How to Deposit USDC for Perps

Why perps need their own balance

Spot trades on Axiom settle from your Solana wallet in SOL. Perpetuals are different: they are positions on Hyperliquid, and Hyperliquid margins everything in USDC. So the wallet keeps two balances side by side, Solana for spot and Perps for futures, and money has to move from one to the other before you can open a long or a short.

Convert SOL to USDC on Hyperliquid

1. Click your balance at the top right of the page, where SOL and USDC sit side by side.
2. Press the swap arrows between the two balances. The Exchange window opens on Convert.
3. Type the SOL amount in Converting. The Gaining box shows the USDC you will receive on Hyperliquid, with the rate underneath.
4. Press Convert. The USDC shows up in the Perps tab of the wallet and as Available Margin on the Perpetuals page.

The window states a minimum of 6 USDC per conversion. Below that the button won't go through, so convert a little more than your first position needs.

How much to put in

Margin is not the same as exposure. With leverage, a small balance controls a much larger position, and the same leverage that grows a gain shrinks the distance to liquidation. A sensible first deposit is an amount you would be comfortable losing entirely, kept separate from your spot money. Axiom's own docs warn that many traders lose everything by overleveraging.

What it costs

Each perps trade pays Hyperliquid's own trading fee plus 0.01% for Axiom, and the exact Hyperliquid rate depends on your volume tier and on whether the order fills instantly or rests in the book. Open positions also pay or receive funding every hour, depending on which side of the market is crowded. Small numbers each, but they add up over a position held for days. The Axiom perps guide covers them in detail.

With margin in place, How to Open a Long or Short on Axiom is the next step, and How to Withdraw from Axiom Perps explains the way back.