# Canonical: https://www.uddalak.xyz/hyperliquid-academy/article/60-hyperliquid-glossary
# Author: Uddalak Das
# Last source: https://www.uddalak.xyz/hyperliquid-academy/article/60-hyperliquid-glossary

---
title: "Hyperliquid Glossary: The Terms You Need to Know"
description: "A living glossary of Hyperliquid concepts, market terms, protocol components, and developer primitives, with each definition connected to deeper Academy references."
pillar: "Foundations"
track: "Foundations"
cluster: "Foundations"
level: "Beginner"
primary_icp: ["crypto-curious professional", "student"]
secondary_icp: ["trader", "builder"]
content_type: "reference"
reading_time: "3 min"
last_reviewed: "2026-09-07"
last_verified: "2026-09-07"
volatile: false
prerequisites: []
related: ["01-what-is-hyperliquid", "53-hypercore-vs-hyperevm", "17-order-types", "24-hip-1-native-token-standard"]
---

# Hyperliquid Glossary: The Terms You Need to Know

This glossary is the shortest route into Hyperliquid terminology. It is intentionally definition-first: each term explains what the object does in the system, not how the market narrates it. Use it when an article assumes a term you have not seen before, then follow the linked concept for the mechanism.

## Protocol and execution terms

**Hyperliquid**: the L1 blockchain that contains HyperCore and HyperEVM.

**HyperCore**: the native financial execution environment responsible for Hyperliquid's order books, positions, margin, liquidations, and other protocol financial state.

**HyperEVM**: the EVM-compatible smart-contract environment on the same L1.

**HyperBFT**: Hyperliquid's proof-of-stake consensus system, derived from HotStuff-style consensus ideas.

**Precompile**: a protocol-provided EVM interface that lets a smart contract read selected HyperCore state.

**CoreWriter**: a system interface through which HyperEVM contracts can send supported actions to HyperCore.

## Trading terms

**CLOB**: central limit order book. Bids and asks are matched using an ordering rule such as price-time priority.

**Perpetual future**: a derivative without a fixed expiry date that uses funding and reference prices to keep its market price aligned with the underlying.

**Mark price**: a risk-oriented price used for calculations such as unrealized PnL and liquidation.

**Oracle price**: an external/reference price input used by the protocol's pricing and risk systems.

**Funding**: periodic peer-to-peer payments between long and short positions used to encourage perp prices to remain near the underlying reference market.

**Open interest**: the outstanding notional or contract exposure in a derivatives market, distinct from trading volume.

**Cross margin**: positions share eligible collateral.

**Isolated margin**: collateral is ring-fenced to a position or isolated exposure.

**ADL**: auto-deleveraging, a backstop mechanism for residual risk when ordinary liquidation cannot fully resolve an undercollateralized position.

## Protocol standards

**HIP-1**: Hyperliquid's native token standard for HyperCore spot assets.

**HIP-2 / Hyperliquidity**: protocol-level automated liquidity support for native spot order books.

**HIP-3**: builder-deployed perpetual markets that use HyperCore infrastructure while giving deployers control over defined market parameters.

**HIP-4**: outcome-market infrastructure for fully collateralized discrete outcomes.

**Aligned Quote Asset**: a quote asset that meets additional protocol conditions and receives defined fee/liquidity benefits.

**Permissionless Quote Asset**: a quote token enabled under the protocol's permissionless requirements without aligned status.

## Capital and ecosystem terms

**HYPE**: Hyperliquid's native asset, used for staking, HyperEVM gas, and selected protocol staking requirements.

**HLP**: the protocol vault that participates in market making and other system activities.

**Portfolio Margin**: an account mode that evaluates eligible spot and perpetual exposures together and can support lending/borrowing mechanics.

**API wallet**: an authorized signer used for programmatic exchange actions without exposing the account's primary key to the bot.

**Subaccount**: a separate account context under a main account used to isolate strategies, positions, and permissions.

## How this connects

Related reading: [What Is Hyperliquid? How HyperCore, HyperEVM, and HyperBFT Work](/hyperliquid-academy/article/01-what-is-hyperliquid), [HyperCore vs HyperEVM: Which Layer Does What?](/hyperliquid-academy/article/53-hypercore-vs-hyperevm), [Hyperliquid Order Types Explained](/hyperliquid-academy/article/17-order-types), [HIP-1: Hyperliquid's Native Token Standard](/hyperliquid-academy/article/24-hip-1-native-token-standard).

## Sources

- https://hyperliquid.gitbook.io/hyperliquid-docs