cloudzombie/gas

Gas & Costs on HyperEVM

What You Probably Got Wrong

"Gas is paid in ETH." No. HYPE is the native gas token on HyperEVM. Every HyperEVM transaction costs HYPE, not ETH.

"Priority fees go to validators." No. Priority fees on HyperEVM are burned. Validators do not receive priority fees. This is different from Ethereum.

"Every Hyperliquid action costs gas." HyperCore actions (placing orders, canceling orders, HyperCore transfers) do NOT cost EVM gas. Only HyperEVM transactions cost HYPE gas. Know which layer you're on.

"Blobs are available for cheap data." No blobs on HyperEVM — Hyperliquid doesn't need data availability blobs. The Cancun hardfork is implemented but without blob support. Don't use blobhash() or blob-related opcodes.

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Fee Mechanics

HyperEVM uses EIP-1559:

transaction fee = (baseFee + priorityFee) * gasUsed

• baseFee: set by protocol, burned
• priorityFee (tip): also burned on HyperEVM (NOT paid to validators)
• maxFeePerGas: maximum you'll pay per unit of gas
• maxPriorityFeePerGas: tip above base fee — burned, but still required to signal urgency

Both components are burned. Validators earn HYPE through staking rewards, not gas fees.

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What Things Actually Cost

Costs in HYPE. HYPE price is volatile — verify current price on CoinGecko or Hyperliquid's UI. Gas usage is similar to Ethereum for equivalent operations — the difference is the fee token.

| Action | Gas Used (approx) | Cost at 1 gwei baseFee | |--------|-------------------|------------------------| | HYPE transfer | 21,000 | ~0.000021 HYPE | | ERC-20 transfer | ~65,000 | ~0.000065 HYPE | | ERC-20 approve | ~46,000 | ~0.000046 HYPE | | HyperSwap V2 swap | ~130,000 | ~0.000130 HYPE | | ERC-20 deploy | ~1,200,000 | ~0.0012 HYPE | | Simple contract deploy | ~500,000 | ~0.0005 HYPE | | Complex DeFi contract | ~3,000,000 | ~0.003 HYPE |

Gas costs are very low in absolute terms because base fees on HyperEVM are low.

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HyperCore — No Gas Required

HyperCore actions do NOT cost EVM gas:

• Placing orders (perp or spot)
• Canceling orders
• Modifying orders
• HyperCore-to-HyperCore transfers (between HyperCore accounts)

HyperCore has its own fee structure (trading fees: maker 0.02%, taker 0.05% default, reduced for high volume), but these are NOT gas — they're trading fees charged in the quote asset.

Only HyperEVM contract interactions cost HYPE gas.

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Getting HYPE for Gas

Users need HYPE on HyperEVM to pay gas. Two ways to get it:

1. Bridge from HyperCore to HyperEVM: Send HYPE to 0x2222222222222222222222222222222222222222 on HyperEVM, OR use the /exchange API action "type": "spotSend" to move HYPE from HyperCore to HyperEVM.

2. Buy on HyperSwap V2: If already on HyperEVM with other tokens, swap for HYPE on HyperSwap V2 (see addresses/SKILL.md for router address).

Testnet: Get testnet HYPE from the Hyperliquid testnet faucet at https://app.hyperliquid-testnet.xyz/

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Practical Fee Settings

// viem: setting gas for HyperEVM transactions
const tx = await walletClient.sendTransaction({
  to: contractAddress,
  data: calldata,
  maxFeePerGas: parseGwei('2'),          // 2 gwei max (safe headroom)
  maxPriorityFeePerGas: parseGwei('0.1'), // 0.1 gwei tip (burned anyway)
});

// Or let viem estimate automatically
const gasPrice = await publicClient.getGasPrice();

# Python: setting gas for HyperEVM via web3.py
tx = contract.functions.myFunction(arg1, arg2).build_transaction({
    'from': account.address,
    'maxFeePerGas': web3.to_wei('2', 'gwei'),
    'maxPriorityFeePerGas': web3.to_wei('0.1', 'gwei'),
    'nonce': web3.eth.get_transaction_count(account.address),
})

Recommended settings for current conditions:

• maxFeePerGas: 2-5 gwei (generous headroom)
• maxPriorityFeePerGas: 0.1-0.5 gwei (tip is burned but still needed)

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Checking Gas Programmatically

# Foundry cast commands for HyperEVM
cast gas-price --rpc-url https://rpc.hyperliquid.xyz/evm
cast base-fee --rpc-url https://rpc.hyperliquid.xyz/evm

# Testnet
cast gas-price --rpc-url https://rpc.hyperliquid-testnet.xyz/evm
cast base-fee --rpc-url https://rpc.hyperliquid-testnet.xyz/evm

// viem: get current gas price
import { createPublicClient, http } from 'viem';
import { hyperliquid } from './chains'; // your chain definition

const client = createPublicClient({
  chain: hyperliquid,
  transport: http('https://rpc.hyperliquid.xyz/evm'),
});

const feeData = await client.estimateFeesPerGas();
console.log('Base fee:', feeData.maxFeePerGas);

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HYPE Decimal Gotcha

HYPE has 18 decimals on HyperEVM (same as ETH on Ethereum). But in HyperCore API responses, HYPE amounts are expressed with different precision — check the context.

When bridging:

• HyperEVM: HYPE is 18-decimal (standard wei)
• HyperCore: HYPE balances are often expressed in float notation (e.g., "1.5" = 1.5 HYPE)

// HyperEVM: 1 HYPE = 1e18 wei
uint256 oneHype = 1e18;

// Never assume 1e8 (that's a HyperCore internal representation)
// Always verify with the actual chain

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Gas Estimation for Contracts

// Estimate gas before sending
const gasEstimate = await publicClient.estimateGas({
  account: myAddress,
  to: contractAddress,
  data: encodeFunctionData({ abi, functionName: 'myFunction', args: [arg1] }),
});

// Add 20% buffer
const gasLimit = gasEstimate * 120n / 100n;

Always estimate before sending. HyperEVM contracts can have variable gas costs based on state.

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HyperCore Trading Fees (Not Gas)

For reference — these are NOT gas, they're exchange trading fees:

| Tier | Maker Fee | Taker Fee | Minimum 14-day volume | |------|-----------|-----------|----------------------| | Default | 0.02% | 0.05% | — | | Tier 1 | 0.014% | 0.042% | $5M | | Tier 2 | 0.01% | 0.035% | $25M | | Tier 3 | 0.004% | 0.028% | $100M | | VIP | 0% | 0.020% | $500M+ |

Builder fees (HIP-3): up to 0.1% additional, set by the builder.

These fees are charged in the quote asset of each market (USDC for perps, quote token for spot).