Hyperliquid Vault Glossary

Short, precise definitions of every term used in Hyperliquid vault analytics. For longer answers see the FAQ.

Source boundary. Protocol definitions are checked against Hyperliquid's official vault documentation, depositor guide, and info endpoint reference. VaultVision risk scores and entry signals are product-specific model outputs, not Hyperliquid protocol fields; read the methodology and verify the current vault state in the live scanner.

A

APR
A non-compounded annualised rate derived from a stated return window. The window and source must be checked; annualisation can magnify short-history results and does not describe drawdown or tail risk.
APY
An annualised yield that includes an explicit compounding assumption. It can differ from APR depending on the underlying rate, compounding frequency, return path, and source methodology.

B

Backtest
Applying a strategy retroactively to historical data to estimate how it would have behaved under stated assumptions. Results can be affected by overfitting, data selection, fees, slippage, and execution assumptions; they are not executed performance or a prediction.

D

Drawdown
The percentage decline from a vault's prior equity peak to a later trough. It describes the observed path of losses but does not predict the next drawdown.
Max drawdownMax DD
The largest observed peak-to-trough decline in the available history. It is measurement-window dependent and is not a worst-case guarantee.

E

Entry signal
A VaultVision entry-quality heuristic derived from recent drawdown, vault-level flow, and momentum inputs. It is a model output, not a buy instruction.

F

Funding rate
A periodic payment between long and short perpetual-futures positions that helps anchor perp prices to spot. Funding can add to or subtract from a vault's PnL depending on its inventory.

H

HLPHyperliquidity Provider
Hyperliquid's protocol vault for multiple market-making strategies, liquidations, USDC supplied to Earn, and a portion of trading fees. Community depositors share PnL. The documented lockup is four days after the most recent deposit.
HyperCore
Hyperliquid's native L1 chain where vaults, perp trading, and order books live. Separate from HyperEVM.
HyperEVM
Hyperliquid's EVM-compatible execution layer for general DeFi protocols. HyperEVM TVL is separate from Hyperliquid vault TVL.
Hyperliquid
A blockchain network with HyperCore for native trading and HyperEVM for EVM-compatible applications. Current legacy-vault documentation says user vaults can trade validator-operated perps but cannot trade spot or HIP-3 perps.

L

Leader vault
A legacy Hyperliquid user vault managed by a trader. Current official documentation specifies a 10% leader profit share, at least 100 USDC to create the vault, a 100 USDC creation fee, and at least 5% continuing leader ownership.
Liquidation
The forced reduction or closure of a leveraged position when collateral no longer satisfies maintenance requirements. Hyperliquid's protocol-vault documentation states that HLP performs liquidations.
Liquidation premium
A price or fee incentive associated with liquidation execution. Its realized contribution depends on the position and market; the HLP documentation does not promise a fixed premium.
Lockup
The minimum time after a deposit before those USDC can be withdrawn. Current official documentation states one day for legacy user vaults and four days for HLP, measured from the most recent deposit.

M

Mark-to-market
Valuing an open position at its current market price rather than entry price. Hyperliquid vault TVL includes mark-to-market unrealised PnL.

O

On-chain
Data or actions recorded directly on a blockchain. Hyperliquid vault balances, deposits, and positions are all on-chain on HyperCore.
Open interestOI
The total notional size of all open perp positions on Hyperliquid. Includes leverage; not the same as TVL.

P

Paper trading
A hypothetical allocation simulation without depositing real capital. Results are research outputs, not executed performance.
Performance fee
Hyperliquid's current legacy leader documentation specifies a 10% share of vault profits for the leader. The HLP protocol-vault page does not describe a separate leader profit share.
PerpPerpetual future
A futures contract without a fixed expiry. Hyperliquid supports perpetual markets; avoid an unsourced claim about what share of all trading they represent.
PnL
Profit and loss. A vault's PnL is the change in equity from trading, excluding new deposits and withdrawals.

R

Risk band
The category a vault falls into based on its risk score: low (0-33), moderate (34-66), or high (67-100).
Risk score
VaultVision's 0-100 metric combining 35% performance risk, 25% drawdown risk, 25% liquidity risk, and 15% data-quality risk. Lower means less risky under the current model inputs. Full formula: risk score methodology.

S

Sharpe ratio
Return above a selected benchmark divided by return volatility. Interpret it with the exact window, sample size, benchmark, and tail-risk limitations; there is no universal good threshold.
Slippage
The price difference between the quoted execution and the actual fill. Larger on illiquid markets; matters more when withdrawing from a vault that holds illiquid positions.
Sortino ratio
A return-to-risk ratio that penalizes downside deviation rather than all volatility. It remains window- and sample-dependent.
Spot
Buying or selling an asset at its current price for immediate settlement. Hyperliquid has a spot market alongside its perp markets.

T

TVLTotal Value Locked
A vault's current marked-to-market equity. An aggregate vault TVL depends on the selected universe and filters; VaultVision totals cover only rows included by the current product policy. Separate from HyperEVM DeFi TVL and perp open interest. See live vault TVL rankings.
TVL share
A vault's TVL as a percentage of the selected vault universe. The value changes with deposits, withdrawals, marked-to-market PnL, and the universe definition, so use a live screen rather than a fixed range.

V

Vault
An on-chain strategy pool. On Hyperliquid's legacy vault surface, depositors share pro-rata profits or losses; user-vault leaders receive the documented 10% profit share, while HLP is a protocol vault.

W

Whale
A product label for activity above a displayed size threshold. On VaultVision's public flow tape, the row is a vault-level aggregate signal rather than a named-wallet transaction.
Whale flow
Thresholded vault-level net-flow activity over the retained snapshot window. It is a directional research signal, not a complete depositor transaction ledger.
Missing a term? Hit @0xkayser on X. Also see: FAQ · Blog · Live vault TVL.