Guide
How Route works
A trade on Route is a train journey. Here is the whole trip, start to finish, in plain words.
Route is live on testnet now. Mainnet is next.
1. Board
Pick BTC or ETH, long or short, a margin in USDC and a leverage up to 1,000× (1,200× with the Footplate pass). Your wallet signs the order, or a one-tap key does it for you so you aren't clicking through pop-ups all day. Orders need no HYPE for gas: a $0.02 fee per open and close covers the relay. Deposits and withdrawals are ordinary wallet transactions and need a little HYPE.
2. The fill
The relay holds your order for a few seconds, then it fills at Hyperliquid's on-chain price. That short wait is deliberate: it takes away most of the edge someone would get from seeing a price move a moment before everyone else, which protects the pot that pays everyone's wins.
3. Ride
Your journey shows up on the chart as a train. Set planned stops if you like: an arrival point (take-profit) and an emergency stop (stop-loss). Watch the line live, and follow other riders.
4. Arrive, alight or derail
- Arrive: close in profit. The win is paid from the pot, after a size haircut and a 2% win fee.
- Alight: close wherever you choose, at a loss or anywhere in between. A loss goes to the pot.
- Derail: the price hits your bust price and the position is liquidated. Its margin goes to the pot.
Where the money comes from
Route has no market makers. Every trade is against the pot, which starts empty and grows from riders' losses. That has two honest consequences: a win can only be paid from what the pot holds, and when the pot is short, the rest of a win waits in a first-in, first-out queue. Before you sign, the order ticket shows the share of a win your position can be paid.
HLT, staking and miles
Every loss mints HLT to the rider who lost it. HLT can be staked for a share of win fees, paid in USDC when there are any. Miles track your riding and unlock things like the Footplate pass. None of this is a promise of value: see the paper.
Duels and clips
Challenge a friend or find a rival for a duel scored on real trades, and turn any finished journey into a stop-motion clip with sound to post.
Questions
Do I need HYPE to trade on Route?
Not for orders: a $0.02 fee per open and close covers the relay's gas. Deposits and withdrawals are wallet transactions and need a little HYPE.
Who pays my winnings?
The pot, which is held by the contracts and grows from riders' losses. If it can't cover a win in full, the rest queues and is paid in order as the pot refills; a queued win may never be paid in full.
Why is my order filled a few seconds later?
The relay holds orders for a few seconds before they fill at Hyperliquid's on-chain price. It removes most of the edge from seeing a price move first, which protects the pot.