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This article was first published on The Bit Journal.
Hyperliquid has rolled out a portfolio margin system on its testnet in pre-alpha, aiming to make spot trading and perpetual futures work from one shared margin balance. Instead of treating spot and perps like separate accounts, the system measures risk on the net portfolio position.
For traders, the appeal is practical as when collateral is split across products, a position can get liquidated even while value sits elsewhere in the same account. Portfolio margin is designed to reduce that mismatch by letting spot and perp profit and loss offset each other, which can free up margin for hedged positions.
A major use case is hedging as a trader who holds spot can short perps against it without constantly moving funds around, which makes carry style setups cleaner. In a carry trade, the focus is the spread between spot and perps, not a dramatic price prediction.
The indicators that matter stay familiar. Funding rates show the day to day cost of perp exposure and can flip when traders crowd into one direction. The basis, meaning the gap between spot and perp prices, gives a quick read on leverage demand.
Another part of the design is yield on idle borrowable assets in the margin account. If capital is not actively used, it can automatically earn return instead of sitting dormant.
Hyperliquid is keeping the first release tightly controlled. The documentation says portfolio margin is launching in pre-alpha with extremely low caps on borrowable assets, and it recommends testing with a new account or subaccount holding less than $1,000. If caps are hit, accounts can fall back to the usual non portfolio margin behavior.
The asset set is also narrow by design. In the current pre-alpha configuration, only USDC is borrowable and HYPE is the only collateral asset. That restriction keeps the moving parts limited while borrowing supply and risk controls are stress tested.
Before the feature moves beyond pre-alpha, the plan is to add USDH as a borrowable asset and BTC as eligible collateral. More collateral choices can widen the set of hedges, and deeper assets can reduce slippage when the market gets jumpy.
The framework is described as applying across HIP-3 decentralized exchanges and may extend to future HyperCore asset classes. The practical test is whether the experience stays stable as caps and assets expand, and whether fallback behavior becomes rare instead of frequent.
Portfolio margin can make leverage feel smoother, but it does not remove risk. A hedge can fail if liquidity thins, spreads widen, or positions become too large to adjust. Anyone testing should treat it as experimental infrastructure and size accordingly. This is market commentary, not investment advice.
Hyperliquid is testing a feature that can change how traders manage spot and derivatives side by side. If the system holds up, it can make hedging more practical, keep collateral working overall, and reduce avoidable liquidations caused by fragmented margin. The pre-alpha guardrails suggest a measured approach before any wider release.
What is portfolio margin?
It evaluates spot and perp positions together so combined exposure drives margin needs.
Is it live on mainnet?
No, it is running in pre-alpha on the testnet.
Which assets are supported right now?
USDC is borrowable and HYPE is the only collateral asset in pre-alpha.
Basis is the gap between spot and perp prices.
Funding rate is a periodic payment that helps keep perps near spot.
Collateral is the asset backing positions against losses.
Liquidation is a forced close when margin is insufficient.
References
Read More: Hyperliquid Launches Spot-Perps Integration Features">Hyperliquid Launches Spot-Perps Integration Features
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