What you need before starting

To deposit funds on Hyperliquid, you need three things:

A wallet — MetaMask or Rabby, set up and ready. (Need help? Here’s our wallet setup guide.)
USDC on Arbitrum — Hyperliquid’s bridge currently accepts USDC from the Arbitrum network (deposit at app.hyperliquid.xyz)
A tiny bit of ETH on Arbitrum — for gas fees (we’re talking cents, not dollars)

If you already have USDC on Arbitrum, skip ahead to the bridging section. If your USDC is on Ethereum mainnet, a different L2, or on a centralized exchange, we’ll cover how to get it to Arbitrum first.

Step 1: Get USDC on Arbitrum

If your USDC is on a centralized exchange (Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, etc.)

This is the easiest path for most beginners:

Go to your exchange’s withdrawal page
Select USDC as the asset
Choose Arbitrum One as the network (this is important — don’t pick Ethereum mainnet, you’ll pay much higher fees)
Paste your wallet address (the 0x address from MetaMask/Rabby)
Confirm the withdrawal

The USDC should arrive in your wallet within a few minutes. Withdrawal fees are usually under $1 on Arbitrum.

If your USDC is on Ethereum mainnet

You’ll need to bridge it to Arbitrum. The official Arbitrum Bridge works, but it takes about 10 minutes. Faster alternatives like Across or Stargate can do it in under a minute for a small fee.

If you’re starting from zero

Buy USDC on any major exchange (Coinbase is the simplest for US users), then withdraw to your wallet on Arbitrum as described above.

Step 2: Bridge USDC to Hyperliquid

Now that you have USDC in your wallet on Arbitrum, you need to move it to Hyperliquid’s L1.

Go to app.hyperliquid.xyz
Connect your wallet (top right)
Click on “Deposit” (you’ll find this in the portfolio or sidebar section)
Enter the amount of USDC you want to deposit
Your wallet will pop up twice:
- First, to approve the USDC spending (this lets the bridge contract access your USDC)
- Second, to confirm the bridge transaction itself
Wait about 1-2 minutes for the bridge to complete

Once the bridge confirms, your USDC balance will appear on Hyperliquid. You’re ready to trade.

What about USDH?

You might see references to USDH when using Hyperliquid. Here’s the quick version: USDH is Hyperliquid’s native stablecoin, pegged 1:1 to USDC. When you deposit USDC, it effectively becomes your trading collateral on Hyperliquid. The system handles the conversion seamlessly.

For a deeper explanation, check out our post on what USDH is and why Hyperliquid uses it.

Step 3: Verify your balance

After bridging, go to your portfolio page on Hyperliquid. You should see your USDC balance reflected. This single balance is now available for:

Perpetual futures trading
Spot token trading
Prediction markets (via Purrdict)

That’s the beauty of shared margin — one deposit covers all your trading activity.

Using testnet first (recommended for beginners)

If you want to practice before committing real money, Hyperliquid has a fully functional testnet. Here’s how:

Go to app.hyperliquid-testnet.xyz
Connect your wallet
You’ll receive free testnet USDC automatically
Trade to your heart’s content — it’s all fake money

Purrdict is currently live on testnet, so you can practice prediction market trading without any financial risk. Same UI, same mechanics, zero stakes.

How much should I deposit?

There’s no minimum, but here are some practical guidelines:

$10-50 — enough to explore and place a few small prediction market trades
$100-500 — comfortable for actively trading prediction markets and maybe some spot
$1,000+ — if you’re trading perps with leverage or want meaningful position sizes

Start small. Get comfortable with how everything works. You can always deposit more later — the bridge takes 2 minutes.

Withdrawals

Getting money back out works the same way in reverse:

Go to your portfolio on Hyperliquid
Click “Withdraw”
Enter the amount
Confirm the transaction
USDC arrives back in your wallet on Arbitrum

Withdrawals typically process in a few minutes. There’s no lock-up period and no withdrawal fee from Hyperliquid (you’ll pay a small Arbitrum gas fee).

Troubleshooting

“I can’t see my USDC on Arbitrum.” Make sure your wallet is connected to the Arbitrum One network. In MetaMask, click the network dropdown at the top and switch to Arbitrum. If Arbitrum isn’t listed, you can add it by going to chainlist.org and searching for “Arbitrum One.”

“The bridge transaction is stuck.” Bridge transactions occasionally take longer during periods of high network activity. Give it 10 minutes before worrying. If it still hasn’t arrived, check the transaction on Arbiscan using your wallet address.

“I accidentally sent USDC on Ethereum mainnet instead of Arbitrum.” Don’t panic. Your USDC is in your wallet, just on the wrong network. Bridge it to Arbitrum using the Arbitrum Bridge, then try again.

Funded and ready? Head to Purrdict to place your first prediction market trade. Need help with that? Check out our beginner’s trading guide.

How to Deposit Funds on Hyperliquid