BULK vs Hyperliquid

Hyperliquid is the industry benchmark for on-chain perpetuals by volume, and the comparison everyone actually wants to see. Here's a grounded look at how BULK differs, without the vague superlatives.

Different chains, different tradeoffs

Hyperliquid runs on its own dedicated L1 blockchain purpose-built for its order book — it isn't a Solana product at all. BULK takes a different approach: it settles on Solana itself, embedding its matching engine directly into Solana validator infrastructure (see BULKBFT and Fair Ordering) rather than running as an independent chain. Practically, this means BULK inherits Solana's existing composability and ecosystem — assets and integrations native to Solana connect more directly — while Hyperliquid is its own self-contained environment.

Markets

Hyperliquid supports 100+ assets. BULK currently lists 20 markets (see Markets on BULK for the full list with direct trade links). If breadth of market selection alone is what you need, Hyperliquid currently has significantly more listed assets.

Leverage

Hyperliquid's leverage caps vary by asset, ranging from 3x to 40x (maintenance margin is set at half the initial margin at max leverage). BULK's documentation describes a 100x theoretical ceiling, but that's not reflective of what's actually live: checked against BULK's `/exchangeInfo` API on September 7, 2026, current per-market caps top out at 40x on BTC-USD — right at Hyperliquid's own high end, not beyond it — with most BULK markets capped at 10x, well below Hyperliquid's typical range. See Contract Specifications on BULK and Markets on BULK for the current per-market numbers on both platforms before assuming a leverage advantage either way. Higher available leverage is not automatically better regardless — see How Liquidations Work before treating a higher ceiling as a reason to use more of it.

Fees: a direct comparison

This is one of the few places a real apples-to-apples table is possible, since both exchanges publish exact tiers.

Tier	Hyperliquid Taker	Hyperliquid Maker	BULK Taker (Genesis phase)	BULK Maker (Genesis phase)
Base / Tier 1	0.045% (4.5bps)	0.015% (1.5bps)	~3.5bps	0bps (waived)
Highest published tier	0.024% (2.4bps) at >$7B volume	0% at >$500M volume	~2.2bps at ≥$4.0B volume	0bps (waived)

Two things worth noting: BULK's maker-fee waiver is a temporary Genesis Liquidity promotion (see Fees on BULK), not a permanent structural feature the way Hyperliquid's tiered maker rebates are — BULK's maker fee does phase back in afterward, starting around 2.0bps before again dropping toward 0bps at higher tiers. Hyperliquid also lets HYPE token stakers reduce fees further (5% off at over 10 HYPE staked, up to 40% off at over 500,000 HYPE) — BULK has no equivalent token-staking fee discount mechanism at this time, since BULK has not launched a token (see Funding & Backers and the FAQ entry on token status).

Capital efficiency

BULK's portfolio margin system uses a continuously-updated, correlation-aware model (a nine-regime risk classification, recalculated in real time) rather than periodic batch recalculation. Whether this produces a meaningfully different capital efficiency outcome than Hyperliquid's own cross-margining in practice isn't something this wiki has independently benchmarked — it's a genuine architectural difference, not a claim about which number comes out lower for a given position.

Track record

Hyperliquid has processed dramatically more cumulative volume and has operated at scale for considerably longer. BULK is a new entrant — mainnet launched in September 2026, and its first real stress test is documented transparently at The BTC Liquidity Event (September 2026). If operational track record and battle-tested infrastructure matter most to you, that time difference is a real factor, not a detail to gloss over.

Who each is actually for

Hyperliquid — broadest market selection, longest operating history, token-staking fee discounts, if you're trading assets beyond BULK's current 20 markets.
BULK — Solana-native composability, currently very low fees during its promotional phase, and portfolio margin efficiency across its market set, if you're comfortable being an early user of newer infrastructure.

A note on sourcing

Hyperliquid's figures are pulled directly from Hyperliquid's own fee documentation and perpetual assets documentation. Fee schedules and market lists change on both platforms — verify current numbers against each platform's live documentation before treating any specific figure here as current.