Hyperliquid combines a trading venue with its own Layer 1 network. Perpetuals and spot trading run on HyperCore, where order books, trades and liquidations are processed on-chain. HyperEVM is another part of the same network, where developers deploy smart contract applications.
Spot trading buys the asset; a perpetual contract opens a collateral-backed long or short position. Perpetual holders exchange funding payments every hour. This page compares funding rates and available spot spreads; the ecosystem guide covers the network, wallets and deposits.