What is TradeXYZ?

TradeXYZ serves as an operator of perpetual futures markets based on the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid. This blockchain platform facilitates trading contracts that are linked to stocks, exchange indices, commodities, and currencies.

Unlike traditional trading, there is no actual buying or selling of underlying assets on this platform; instead, traders open positions based solely on price movements. Profits and losses are calculated in the stablecoin USDC.

The platform launched on October 13, 2025, coinciding with the activation of the HIP-3 standard. This standard enabled third-party developers to create their own markets using Hyperliquid's infrastructure. TradeXYZ emerged as the first operator under this standard and has since established a commanding presence, holding a 98% share among similar projects.

Hyperunit is behind the launch of this trading platform. Previously, the team developed Unit, which allows users to transfer Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and other cryptocurrencies onto Hyperliquid.

TradeXYZ interface showcasing the SpaceX stock contracts market. Source: trade.xyz.

How is TradeXYZ Connected to Hyperliquid?

The roles of TradeXYZ and Hyperliquid are clearly defined. The Perp-DEX matches buy and sell orders, manages margin, and handles liquidations and settlements. The operator selects trading assets, publishes oracle prices, and sets the maximum leverage and open interest limits.

To launch its own markets, an operator must have significant funds: they are required to stake 500,000 HYPE. Should there be any misuse, such as submitting false data to bypass system restrictions, validators can vote to confiscate part or all of the collateral.

Sanctions are also imposed for technical failures: if an operator experiences prolonged downtime, they risk losing up to 100% of their collateral; for shorter downtime, the risk is up to 50%, and network performance issues can lead to a 20% loss. Confiscated tokens are burned, and affected traders do not receive compensation.

For TradeXYZ contracts, the taker's fee is 0.09%, which is double the fee on Hyperliquid's cryptocurrency markets, where it stands at 0.045%. Revenue from these fees, before referral discounts, is split evenly between the operator and the exchange.

A portion of the protocol's fees is allocated to the Assistance Fund, which almost daily uses these funds to buy back HYPE from the open market. The acquired native tokens are sent to an address for which no one holds the keys. In December 2025, validators recognized these tokens as burned.

In Q3 2026, TradeXYZ generated $24.6 million in fees, with Hyperliquid receiving $12.3 million of that total. Almost all of this amount was used to buy back HYPE.

Distribution of roles and fees between Hyperliquid and TradeXYZ. Source: ForkLog based on data from TradeXYZ, Hyperliquid, and DefiLlama.

Typically, liquidation closes positions gradually in small increments. However, if the price moves too sharply, this becomes impossible, and the trader's obligations on Hyperliquid's main markets shift to the HLP vault. This is a shared pool that contributors fund in USDC; it generates income from matched orders and a share of the fees but also absorbs losses in such situations.

In March 2025, due to manipulation involving the low-liquidity asset JELLY, the vault took on a large short position, leading to significant losses for its participants, which the platform later compensated.

TradeXYZ employs a different scheme. Problematic positions on contracts with cross-margin are managed not by HLP but by a separate on-chain liquidator.

User markets are accessible not only on the operator's website; they are also available through Hyperliquid's main interface and services from independent developers. For beginners, these applications have become the primary entry point: in August 2026, 84% of traders who made their first trade on the exchange did so using XYZ contracts.

What Can Be Traded on TradeXYZ?

As of October 4, 2026, the TradeXYZ interface offered 128 perpetual contracts. The majority are tied to stocks, including American (Nvidia, Tesla, Apple), Korean, Japanese, Hong Kong, and Chinese equities. The oracle converts foreign stock prices into US dollars. The remaining contracts consist of exchange-traded funds, indices, commodities, and currency pairs.

The leverage varies depending on the asset class. For individual company stocks, the maximum leverage typically reaches 10x, allowing traders to open positions ten times larger than their initial investment. For major U.S. corporations, this can go up to 20x, while for the S&P 500 and currency pairs, it can be as high as 50x.

TradeXYZ uses the S&P 500 index under an official license: a contract with S&P Dow Jones Indices was signed on March 18, 2026. This is the first and currently the only perpetual contract on the "barometer of the U.S. economy" created with the rights holder's permission.

In contrast, XYZ100 is built on the proprietary index of the platform itself, rather than a licensed benchmark. It includes the 100 largest non-financial companies in the U.S., making it somewhat similar to the Nasdaq-100.

TradFi instruments on Hyperliquid are proving to be just as popular as many crypto assets. As of October 6, the open interest for the S&P 500 contract stood at $382 million, ranking sixth among all pairs on the exchange — even exceeding Ripple's XRP.

In 2026, the leadership in trading volume on TradeXYZ shifted from silver to oil and then to memory chip stocks. Between January 1 and March 2, contracts on this precious metal accounted for $28.3 billion in trades. From March 3 to May 16, amid the U.S.-Iran conflict, WTI saw $47.8 billion in trading, while Brent had $21.6 billion. Interest then shifted to chips in the summer: the share of SK Hynix, SanDisk, and Micron in XYZ's trading volume surged from 4% in January to 60% in the last week of July.

Changes in trading volume leaders on TradeXYZ in 2026. Source: ForkLog based on data from Hyperdash.

A recent example is the ULSD contract. In September, its price hit a record: on September 15, the NYMEX futures contract traded at $5.262.

How Do Perpetual Contracts Differ from Stocks?

Common stocks confer ownership rights in a company, including voting rights at shareholder meetings and entitlement to dividends. In contrast, a perpetual futures contract ("perp") on TradeXYZ does not offer such benefits; it merely reflects price movements of the underlying asset.

By the expiration date, the price of a standard contract converges with the market value of the underlying asset. This property is not characteristic of "perps".

The connection to the underlying asset is maintained through a funding rate — regular payments exchanged among market participants. These are made hourly: if the instrument trades above the oracle price, long positions pay short positions, and vice versa. This discourages trades that exacerbate price discrepancies.

Even when the contract price aligns with the oracle quote, the holder of a long position pays a small fixed rate — approximately 11% annually for cryptocurrency pairs on Hyperliquid. For XYZ contracts, this rate has been cut in half, to 5.5% annually, making it closer to traditional market borrowing costs. In other words, an annual rate on a long position of $10,000 would amount to about $550.

Comparison of common stocks, tokenized stocks, and "perps" on TradeXYZ. Source: ForkLog based on data from TradeXYZ and DefiLlama.

Tokenized stocks operate differently: each token is backed by a security held by a custodian. This RWA segment grew rapidly in 2026, expanding from $0.7 billion at the beginning of January to over $3 billion by the end of September.

How Does Trading on TradeXYZ Work on Weekends?

Traditional exchanges close on Saturdays and Sundays, even though news continues to emerge. While the underlying asset trades on an exchange, the "perp" follows its quotes. Once trading is closed, the order book of the platform becomes the new reference point: traders set the price themselves.

Weekend trading on TradeXYZ experiences lower liquidity, meaning a single large transaction can drastically alter the contract price and trigger a wave of liquidations. Thus, it is allowed to move only within a designated "corridor" (discovery bounds). The permissible deviation from the last price on the original exchange in either direction is one divided by the maximum leverage. For WTI oil (20x), this is 5% (1 ÷ 20): if the barrel was priced at $100 before closing, the contract can trade between $95 and $105.

When the quote approaches 90% of the distance to the upper or lower limit, the corridor shifts — for instance, from $95–105 to $99.75–110.25. An oil contract allows no more than two shifts in one direction, meaning it could increase to $115.76 or decrease to $85.74 over the weekend. Positions with liquidation prices outside the current range are not forcibly closed.

Example of price corridor shift for the WTI oil contract. Source: ForkLog based on data from TradeXYZ.

This mechanism was not implemented immediately. In the initial weeks of testing, the oil contract hit a 5% boundary, and trading was halted until the weekend concluded.

The demand for 24/7 trading became evident amid the U.S.-Iran conflict. During the peak escalation from March 7 to 12, traders on TradeXYZ accounted for nearly one-third of all active wallets on Hyperliquid — 31.1%. Weekends became a unique influx channel for the platform: 69,949 wallets executed their first transaction on the platform on a Saturday or Sunday.

However, the corridor does not eliminate price risks entirely. If the underlying asset's value moves outside the range over the weekend, trading will start on Monday with a gap. Additionally, during non-trading hours, discrepancies between quotes of the same asset across different platforms can reach 0.3%.

What Are Pre-IPO Contracts?

While an issuer prepares for an IPO, its shares are not traded on the stock exchange, and thus there is no publicly available price. In such instances, TradeXYZ launches dedicated markets — perpetual contracts on stocks before listing (Pre-IPO Perpetuals).

The starting price is set at the operator's discretion and is emphasized not to serve as an accurate benchmark. After this, quotes are determined solely by traders' orders — the contract has no external reference.

The maximum leverage in such pre-markets is significantly lower compared to other markets — usually not exceeding 5x. The price corridor, however, is wider — up to ±50% — to ensure trading does not halt during sharp movements. Margin is strictly isolated.

Once the shares begin trading on the stock exchange, the contract transforms into a standard "perp" and is tied to the stock's market quotes via an oracle. If a listing is canceled or delayed for more than 60 days, positions are settled according to a predefined procedure — typically at the average price over a specified period.

The first such market was launched for Cerebras, an American AI chip developer. The contract debuted in early May 2026 at a price of $175. Underwriters sold shares to investors at $185, while the first trade on Nasdaq occurred at $350. In the last hour before trading opened, the "perp" averaged $354.54 — just 1.3% above the first market price.

Price quotes for Cerebras "perp" on TradeXYZ and the company's shares on Nasdaq. Source: Coin Metrics.

A more illustrative case is SpaceX. Trading for the SPCX contract started on May 18, nearly a month before the company's shares were listed. The share price at the IPO was set at $135. On June 12, the contract was quoted near $153, while the first transaction for SpaceX shares on Nasdaq occurred at $150.

On the day of the IPO, interest in SPCX outshone that in Bitcoin on Hyperliquid: 21,664 unique traders executed transactions with the SPCX contract, compared to 15,628 on the digital gold market.

The situation for tokenized versions of SpaceX shares was different. The provider was unable to obtain actual shares, leading to the cancellation of token launches on four exchanges.

Pre-IPO contracts are not without flaws. On May 28, the SPACEX-USDH market of another operator fell by 45% within half an hour, resulting in the liquidation of positions worth $1.51 million for 405 traders.

Issuers are not exempt from uncertainty either. On September 29, smart ring producer Oura postponed its IPO just hours before the pricing was set — leaving the OURA contract on TradeXYZ without a listing date.

How Do Event Contracts Work on TradeXYZ?

In addition to "perps," TradeXYZ features Events — a section for betting on various outcomes. The platform launched on September 10, 2026, based on HIP-4.

"Will oil be above $100 by October 30?" — with two answer options. A separate token priced between 0 and 1 USDC is issued for each option. By the specified deadline, lucky participants receive 1 USDC for each token they hold from the winning side, while tokens from the losing side become worthless.

The Events section on TradeXYZ, as of October 2, 2026. Source: trade.xyz.

In the interface, the options for the Bitcoin question are Yes and No, while for oil, they are Above and Below. On October 2, the bet on oil rising was priced at $0.19, while the bet on it not rising was $0.81. The winning token pays back $1, while the losing token becomes worthless. In other words, the "wisdom of the crowd" estimates about a 19% chance that the barrel will rise above $100.

Events are structured like traditional prediction markets — unlike "perps," they lack leverage, funding rates, and forced position closures. The operator determines the outcomes of asset price forecasts based on the prices of its own perpetual contracts. For instance, the outcome of the question about the oil barrel is determined by the oil quote on TradeXYZ.

Liquidity in this sector remains limited. As of October 2, trading on individual markets did not exceed $11,000 daily, while the daily turnover for the S&P 500 contract surpassed $20 million.

What Comprises Fees on TradeXYZ?

On TradeXYZ, the taker pays 0.09% of the transaction volume, while the maker pays 0.03%. The higher a trader's turnover over the past 14 days, the lower the fee.

Some markets operate under a "growth mode." Hyperliquid implemented this for new platforms to make it easier for operators to attract liquidity. When activated, all fees are reduced by at least 90%: a $1,000 trade costs a taker $0.09 instead of $0.90.

However, such incentives are not available on all markets. For instance, the discount does not apply to digital currencies and crypto indices already directly traded by Hyperliquid. The same goes for gold: its quotes reflect PAXG, which "lives" in the exchange's spot section.

Additional discounts are available for staking HYPE: when staking more than 500,000 coins, traders save up to 40% on trading fees.

Cost of a $1,000 trade for takers on TradeXYZ. Source: ForkLog based on data from TradeXYZ and Hyperliquid.

TradeXYZ does not have a native token. The operator's revenue consists of half the platform's fees, reduced by referral discounts: as of October 6, the total revenue for the incomplete year of operation amounted to $24.87 million.

Who Can Trade on TradeXYZ?

TradeXYZ is a non-custodial platform: the operator does not hold user funds and does not act as an intermediary in trades. Therefore, anyone with a Web3 wallet can trade on it. A brokerage account is not required — simply transferring USDC to Hyperliquid suffices.

The markets operate on the exchange's blockchain and are accessible through its API and compatible services. Thus, a potential site blockage does not affect traders with open positions.

However, the TradeXYZ interface is closed to residents of the U.S., Canada, and the U.K., as well as individuals from sanctioned jurisdictions. The platform prohibits circumventing restrictions via VPN, proxies, or Tor.

Regulatory bodies have yet to establish a clear stance on such platforms. On September 17, the SEC permitted certain platforms to trade tokenized stocks without registering as exchanges for five years. The conditions are strict: access is limited to verified participants, leverage is prohibited, and the digital version must grant the owner the same rights as the original. Derivative instruments like "perps" are not included in this easing.

The operator company, XYZ Ltd, is attempting to influence the regulatory landscape. On August 18, it submitted a letter to the SEC proposing regulations for pre-IPO contracts in collaboration with the Hyperliquid Policy Center. The Commission has not yet responded.

What Are the Risks of Trading on TradeXYZ?

One of the primary risks for traders stems from the high leverage. For instance, at a 20x leverage, a price movement of just 5% in an unfavorable direction can wipe out nearly all margin collateral. After Donald Trump's promise of a "very powerful strike" against Iran, oil prices surged, resulting in liquidations on Brent contracts totaling $46.6 million, with $17.18 million attributed to a single whale.

The operator's protective mechanisms only extend to trades with cross-margin. For isolated positions, the last line of defense is auto-deleveraging.

Each market has a limit on open interest. On October 4, the open interest for the SK Hynix contract was 37.3% of the maximum allowable. When this threshold is reached, increasing existing positions or opening new trades is prohibited.

The funding rate mechanism operates even on weekends, with payments accruing during market closures. Oil futures on the CME expire monthly, and quotes shift to the next contract date. During these transitions, payments for "perps" on WTI can fluctuate dramatically. For instance, during the September rollover, the average annual rate across platforms ranged from -21% to -65%: bearish players had to pay long holders. Almost all of this deviation occurred over several days when the contract change coincided with oil supply disruptions.

Finally, the segment is marked by high concentration: nearly all risks rest with a single operator. As of September 8, TradeXYZ accounted for 25.9% of all open interest on Hyperliquid. A failure in the "layer" could impact about a quarter of all positions on the primary exchange.

Five key risks of trading on TradeXYZ. Source: ForkLog based on data from TradeXYZ, Castle Labs, and Hyperdash.

What Position Does TradeXYZ Hold in the Crypto Industry?

Since its launch, TradeXYZ's cumulative trading volume has exceeded $500 billion.

Throughout the summer, the operator's contracts generated over half of all perpetual trading on Hyperliquid for five consecutive weeks, with the peak reaching 62.5% at the end of July.

TradeXYZ's share in open interest on Hyperliquid. Source: Hyperdash.

According to Hyperdash, TradeXYZ has become the largest channel for attracting new users to the ecosystem. Over 350,000 wallets interacted with the operator's contracts, with about half of these users arriving at the exchange specifically for these markets. Later, more than a quarter of these newcomers began trading Bitcoin and other digital assets as well. Collectively, these traders paid $40.8 million in fees. A portion of these funds — Hyperliquid's share — goes into the HYPE buyback fund.

The segment continues to grow rapidly. Since October 2025, trading volumes of TradFi contracts on decentralized platforms have increased more than 100 times, reaching $123 billion in August — accounting for 15% of total on-chain trading. Approximately 90% of this figure was attributed to TradeXYZ and Variational.

Competition in this sector is intensifying. Decentralized platforms offering contracts on stocks and commodities include Ondo and Lighter, while on September 3, Polymarket introduced perpetual futures on cryptocurrencies — a potential future competitor. Centralized exchanges are also not lagging behind: OKX, Coinbase International, and several other platforms have opened access to derivatives on SpaceX ahead of its IPO.

Analysts from Castle Labs compared how the same instruments — stocks, gold, oil, and other traditional assets — trade on TradeXYZ versus Binance. For four out of five positions, the operator's order book is deeper: it has more orders listed. However, when executing trades, the price on the competitor typically deviates less from the expected price — indicating lower slippage.

Interest spikes in TradeXYZ coincide with significant events in traditional markets — from silver rallies to SpaceX's IPO. When traders shift their focus to digital assets, the platform's share declines.

For instance, on August 19, Bitcoin rose by nearly 8%, leading to record forced liquidations of $2.7 billion in short positions. In the same week, cryptocurrency trading on Hyperliquid increased approximately fourfold. While trading in XYZ contracts remained stable, their share on the exchange dropped from 53% to 25%.

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