Crypto basics: wallets, USDC and networks

A wallet is your account

On Orbafin there is no username or password. Your wallet is your account: a small program (MetaMask, Rabby, Trust Wallet and others) that holds a private key and signs things for you. Connecting a wallet to a website only tells the site your address; it cannot move anything on its own.

The recovery phrase (12 or 24 words) recreates the wallet anywhere. Whoever has it has your money. No honest site, Orbafin included, will ever ask for it.

USDC is the dollar you trade with

USDC is a stablecoin: one USDC is meant to be worth one US dollar, and it is what Hyperliquid uses as cash. Profits and losses are paid in USDC; the trade sizes you see in dollars are USDC.

You can buy USDC on most exchanges (Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, OKX and others) and withdraw it to your wallet.

Networks: the same coin can live in different places

Crypto runs on separate networks (Ethereum, Arbitrum, Solana…), and a coin on one network cannot be sent to an address on another. Hyperliquid takes its deposits from Arbitrum One, so the USDC you send must be native USDC on Arbitrum. The deposit guide walks through it step by step.

Sending on a network costs a tiny fee called gas, paid in that network's coin (ETH on Arbitrum, usually a few cents). Keep a dollar or two of ETH on Arbitrum for that.

What a signature is

When a site asks your wallet to sign something, the wallet shows you what it is. Two kinds matter on Orbafin: a free message that proves the wallet is yours (sign-in), and approvals that give Hyperliquid a permission, such as letting a trade-only key place orders. Neither moves money. A transaction that sends money always shows an amount and asks for gas.