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HIP-1 Tokens and HIP-2 Hyperliquidity on Hyperliquid
Mechanics verified against Hyperliquid's official docs on 2026-09-15. Trading spot is on the spot page; this page is about how the tokens and their first liquidity get there.
Every spot token on Hyperliquid is a HIP-1 token, and most of the ones you see quoted with a steady spread on day one are being quoted by HIP-2, a strategy that runs inside the chain's own block logic. Both are permissionless, both cost HYPE, and both have rules a spot trader should know before buying a newly listed ticker.
HIP-1: the token standard
"HIP-1 is a capped supply fungible token standard. It also features onchain spot order books between pairs of HIP-1 tokens." A deployer sets a name of "maximum 6 characters, no uniqueness constraints", the decimals that fix the lot size, "maxSupply: the maximum and initial supply", optional genesis balances, an optional anchor token whose holders receive genesis proportionally, and the Hyperliquidity parameters. "Any HIP-1 token will be initialized with a native spot order book where the quote token is Spot USDC." Deployers of bridged assets and stablecoins typically mint on the HyperEVM and link the ERC-20 to the HyperCore token, after which "transfers to the system address on the HyperEVM will reflect in the sender's HyperCore balance, and vice versa".
What listing costs
Deployment gas "is decided through a Dutch auction with duration 31 hours", falling linearly "from initial_price to 500 HYPE", where the initial price is "500 HYPE if the last auction failed to complete, otherwise 2 times the last gas price". Gas is charged at the first step, "when the deployer specifies name, szDecimals, and weiDecimals", and "cannot be refunded if the deployment is stuck" — the docs tell deployers to rehearse on testnet. Trading fees paid in a non-USDC HIP-1 token go to its deployer by default ("the deployer's fee share defaults to 100%"); the deployer can set that share between 0 and 100% "but only lower than the previous value afterwards", and the rest is burned.
Spot dust
"Spot dusting occurs once a day at 00:00 UTC. All spot balances that are less than 1 lot size with notional value <= 1 USD will be dusted." Dust across all users is pooled into one market sell and the USDC shared back; if the pooled dust is under one lot it is burned. Dusting skips one-sided books and cases where the pooled amount would move the market — "for PURR, this is 10000 USDC; for all other tokens, this is 3000 USDC". Sub-lot balances above $1 are the ones that get stuck; the spot page covers those.
HIP-2: Hyperliquidity
"HIP-2 is a fully decentralized onchain strategy that is part of Hyperliquid's block transition
logic. Unlike conventional automated order book strategies, there are no operators." It is
"inspired by Uniswap" but posts real orders on the order book, "currently only available on spot
pairs against USDC". A deployer sets a start price, a number of orders, an order size and how
many levels begin as bids (each seeded bid level must be funded with USDC). Price levels step by
0.3% — px_i = round(px_{i-1} * 1.003) — and the strategy re-quotes "on every
block where the block time is at least 3 seconds since the previous update block", so "the
resulting strategy guarantees a 0.3% spread every 3 seconds". Anyone can quote alongside it:
"active liquidity providers can join in liquidity provision alongside Hyperliquidity at any
time".
No market-maker programme
The docs' market-making page is a single statement: "There is no DMM program, special rebates / fees, or latency advantages." Makers compete on the published maker-rebate tiers and, for those who pay for it, the priority-fee mechanism. On perps, deep quotes come from HLP; on new spot tokens, from HIP-2 and whoever joins it.
FAQ
Is a HIP-1 token the same as an ERC-20?
No. It is a HyperCore-native standard with its own order books. A token can also exist as an ERC-20 on the HyperEVM and be linked so balances move between the two.
Why does a new token always show a 0.3% spread?
That is Hyperliquidity: fixed 0.3% price steps re-quoted at least every 3 seconds. Once other makers join, the visible spread can tighten below it.
Can a deployer raise its fee share later?
Only downward, per the docs, with a one-time exception for legacy tokens deployed before fee share existed.
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