⚠︎ Risk warning: leveraged derivatives on unregulated platforms — you can lose everything you deposit. Not investment advice.
Hyperliquid Unified Account vs Portfolio Margin vs Standard
Rules verified against Hyperliquid's official docs on 2026-09-15. The formulas behind each mode are on the margin-modes page; this page is about what changes for you when you pick one.
The "Unified" button in the order form sets your account abstraction mode, and the choice decides one thing above all: what backs a losing perp position. In a unified account it is your balance in that asset, spot included. Under portfolio margin it is every eligible asset, with borrowing. Under standard mode it is only the perps balance of that DEX. The docs recommend unified "for most users"; here is what each one means day to day.
Unified account: one balance per asset
"Single balance for each asset. This balance collateralizes all cross margin positions in that asset and is unified with spot balance in that asset." Your USDC is "the single source for validator-operated perps, XYZ perps, and spot trading against USDC as a quote asset" — there is no separate spot and perps USDC to shuffle. Cross positions on HIP-3 markets that use the same collateral share margin with each other. The mode carries a cap of "50k user actions per day" and does not accrue builder fees, which is why builders are told to use standard mode. For API users, "unified account and portfolio margin show all balances and holds in the spot clearinghouse state".
Why closed-position margin doesn't come back
The support FAQ's example: you close a position that showed 1,000 USDC of margin, and Available Balance rises by less. "In cross margin mode, all your positions share a common pool of margin. When you close one position, the funds ... are not released directly into your Available Balance if other open positions with negative unrealized pnl still require margin." The same applies to deposits and spot-to-perps transfers — "new margin, be it through closing a position or depositing USDC, goes toward these existing positions". Nothing is lost; the money is in Total Balance, reserved. This is cross margin behaving as designed, and it is the single most common "missing funds" question in the docs.
Portfolio margin: borrowing, repayment and yield
Portfolio margin "unifies spot and perps trading for greater flexibility and capital efficiency": HYPE and BTC act as collateral at 65% and 50% loan-to-value, and "insufficient balance is automatically borrowed against eligible collateral". The FAQ's worked example: 10,000 units of a collateral priced at $40 with 50% LTV gives "buying power" of $200,000 USDC. "Borrowable balance can only be used within PM for trading. Borrowable balance cannot be withdrawn or transferred." If a position's equity falls below maintenance, "the system will automatically borrow against available collateral to prevent liquidation". Repayment is automatic — "deposits and realized profits are automatically applied as repayment against outstanding borrows" — and "any idle USDC balance is automatically supplied to earn yield". The risk gauge is the Portfolio Margin Ratio: "if PMR > 95%, cross margin positions and collateral are at risk of liquidation", pushed up by losses, falling collateral prices, withdrawals and accruing interest.
Enabling it, and one discrepancy
The FAQ's requirements: "account value of >$10,000, or >$5,000,000 in weighted trading volume", and the account "must have no open positions, open orders, or active TWAP orders before enabling". You switch on the Portfolio page or via the "Classic" button on the trade page. On the upper bound the two official pages disagree on the day of verification: the FAQ says "account value must be <$5,000,000", the portfolio-margin docs page says "account value <$25M". This site quotes both rather than picking one. The docs page also lists global and per-user supply and borrow caps and says the account "will fall back to non-portfolio margin behavior when caps are hit".
Standard mode: for builders and bots
"Manual / Standard (recommended for market makers, high volume automated users, and deployers/builders): separate perp and spot balances, separate DEX balances. Cross margin applies to each DEX separately." It has no daily action cap, and "builder code addresses must be in standard mode to accrue builder fees". The old "DEX abstraction" mode is discontinued, with the docs warning that cross margin on HIP-3 DEXs "does not behave intuitively" for anyone still on it.
FAQ
Which mode should I start in?
The docs' own recommendation is the unified account. Portfolio margin is gated and adds borrowing and a portfolio-wide liquidation; standard mode splits balances you would otherwise not have to manage.
Can I switch modes with positions open?
Enabling portfolio margin requires no open positions, orders or TWAPs. The docs do not state a constraint for switching between unified and standard; this page does not assume one.
Does portfolio margin change my fees?
The fee pages do not mention the account mode. What changes is interest: borrowers pay and idle suppliers earn the same utilisation-based rate, indexed hourly.
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