Hyperliquid only accepts one canonical deposit: native USDC on Arbitrum One, sent to the Bridge2 contract at 0x2Df1c51E09aECF9cacB7bc98cB1742757f163dF7. Everything else, ETH mainnet, Solana, Base, Optimism, a Coinbase balance, has to land on Arbitrum first, then cross Bridge2. This guide walks each inbound rail with current fees, times, and the exact deposit step.
What is the Hyperliquid bridge?
The Hyperliquid bridge ("Bridge2") is a custom contract deployed on Arbitrum One that escrows USDC and credits a matching balance to the depositor's Hyperliquid L1 account. It is the single canonical inbound rail, there is no native bridge from Ethereum mainnet, Solana, or any other chain. The contract is validator-signed: withdrawals require a two-thirds quorum of Hyperliquid validators, and deposits finalize after about one minute.
Bridge2 contract address and architecture
The Bridge2 contract lives at 0x2Df1c51E09aECF9cacB7bc98cB1742757f163dF7 on Arbitrum One. You can verify it on Arbiscan. Architecturally, it is a multisig-style escrow holding native USDC (token 0xaf88d065e77c8cC2239327C5EDb3A432268e5831), with deposit events watched by every Hyperliquid validator. Once a deposit transaction confirms on Arbitrum, validators sign a state update that credits the sender's address inside the Hyperliquid L1. The minimum deposit is 5 USDC; smaller transfers will not credit and are difficult to recover.
Bridge routes by source chain
Every route below ends the same way: native USDC on Arbitrum, transferred to Bridge2. The differences are which bridge or rail you use to reach Arbitrum, and what it costs.
From | Rail to Arbitrum | Typical time | Typical fee (1,000 USDC) |
Ethereum mainnet | Across or Circle CCTP | 1–3 min (Across) / 15–20 min (CCTP) | $2–$6 (Across) / gas only (CCTP) |
Solana | Circle CCTP v2 | 15–30 sec | ~$0.50 (Solana + Arbitrum gas) |
Base | Across or CCTP | 1–3 min | $0.50–$2 |
Optimism | Across or CCTP | 1–3 min | $0.50–$2 |
Polygon | Across or CCTP | 1–4 min | $0.50–$2 |
Coinbase / Kraken / OKX | Direct USDC withdrawal on Arbitrum | 1–5 min | $0 (free on most CEXs) |
For protocol-level confirmation of these rails, see Across's documentation and Circle's CCTP docs. Fees fluctuate with Arbitrum gas and Across LP utilization; check live quotes before sending size.
From Ethereum mainnet: Across to Arbitrum, then Bridge2
Across is the fastest mainnet → Arbitrum rail for USDC, typically settling in 1–3 minutes via its optimistic relayer network. Circle's CCTP is the lowest-fee alternative but slower because it waits for Ethereum finality (15–20 minutes).
Open app.across.to, select Ethereum → Arbitrum, asset USDC.
Enter the amount, confirm the relayer fee (usually 0.05–0.2%), sign the transaction.
Wait 1–3 minutes for native USDC to land on Arbitrum.
Connect to app.hyperliquid.xyz, click Deposit, paste the amount, sign the Arbitrum transfer to Bridge2.
Balance credits on Hyperliquid in about one minute after Arbitrum confirmation.
From Solana: CCTP to Arbitrum, then Bridge2
Solana has no direct bridge to Hyperliquid, but Circle's CCTP v2 burns USDC on Solana and mints native USDC on Arbitrum in 15–30 seconds. This is the cleanest Solana → Hyperliquid route and avoids wrapped-asset risk.
Open a CCTP-enabled frontend, Mayan, deBridge, or the Circle CCTP demo all work.
Source: Solana USDC. Destination: Arbitrum native USDC. Recipient: your Arbitrum address.
Sign the Solana burn transaction; Arbitrum mint follows within a minute.
From Arbitrum, deposit to Bridge2 via the Hyperliquid app exactly as above.
Avoid Solana → Ethereum → Arbitrum routings unless you specifically need to. The extra hop adds $5–$20 of mainnet gas with no benefit.
From Base or Optimism: Across to Arbitrum, then Bridge2
L2-to-L2 routes are the cheapest practical path. Across quotes Base → Arbitrum USDC at roughly $0.50–$2 in fees and 1–3 minutes end-to-end. Optimism behaves the same.
On app.across.to, select Base (or Optimism) → Arbitrum, USDC.
Confirm fee, sign.
Once USDC arrives on Arbitrum, deposit to Bridge2 from the Hyperliquid app.
CCTP works for these pairs too and costs slightly less, but takes 15–20 minutes because it inherits each L2's hard-finality window. For active trading, Across's speed almost always wins.
From a centralized exchange: direct Arbitrum withdrawal
If your USDC already sits on a major CEX, skip bridges entirely. Coinbase, Kraken, OKX, Bybit, Binance, and KuCoin all support native USDC withdrawals directly on Arbitrum One, typically with zero withdrawal fee on Coinbase and Kraken and a small flat fee elsewhere.
On the exchange's withdraw page, select asset USDC and network Arbitrum One (sometimes labeled "Arbitrum" or "ARB").
Paste your self-custody Arbitrum address, never your Bridge2 address directly. CEX systems will not produce a valid Bridge2 deposit signed by your account.
Confirm the withdrawal; funds arrive in 1–5 minutes.
From your wallet, deposit to Bridge2 through the Hyperliquid app.
How long does a Hyperliquid bridge deposit take end-to-end?
The Bridge2 step itself credits within roughly one minute after the Arbitrum deposit transaction confirms. End-to-end time is dominated by the inbound rail: 15–30 seconds from Solana via CCTP v2, 1–3 minutes from any L2 via Across, 15–20 minutes from Ethereum mainnet via CCTP. Always wait for the Hyperliquid UI to show the credit before trading, Arbitrum confirmation alone is not enough.
Common bridge mistakes that lock funds
Three errors cause most stuck deposits. First, sending bridged or wrapped USDC (USDC.e, the legacy bridged token on Arbitrum) instead of native USDC, Bridge2 only accepts the native Circle-issued token at 0xaf88...5831. Second, sending below the 5 USDC minimum, which the contract refuses to credit. Third, withdrawing from a CEX directly to the Bridge2 address; the contract attributes deposits to the sending EOA, so a CEX hot wallet's deposit will not credit your Hyperliquid account.
Fees: what you actually pay
Hyperliquid charges nothing on the bridge side. The cost is the inbound rail plus Arbitrum gas for the Bridge2 transaction (usually a few cents). On withdrawals out of Hyperliquid, the protocol charges a flat 1 USDC fee, see our Hyperliquid fees guide for the full schedule.
Should you keep USDC on Hyperliquid between sessions?
For active traders, yes, the round-trip cost of bridging in and out exceeds the opportunity cost of leaving margin parked. For occasional users, withdraw back to Arbitrum when you're done and self-custody. Bridge2 is validator-signed and has held up since launch, but no bridge is risk-free, and Hyperliquid's L1 is itself a young system.
Related reading
Methodology and sources
Bridge2 contract address and minimum deposit verified against Hyperliquid's official documentation at hyperliquid.gitbook.io and the deployed contract on Arbiscan. Bridge speeds and fees cross-referenced with Across Protocol docs and Circle CCTP docs. CEX withdrawal-network support verified from each exchange's asset-status page. Fees and times in the comparison table reflect typical conditions and will vary with network congestion.