HyperEVM is Hyperliquid's permissionless smart contract execution environment—a general-purpose EVM where developers can deploy Solidity contracts without approval from the protocol, validators, or any central authority. It exists alongside HyperCore (the financial engine) as a separate execution layer, sharing the same consensus (HyperBFT) and block sequence while maintaining completely independent state.

If HyperCore is where "real trading happens," HyperEVM is the "creative space" where builders can construct arbitrary logic around the exchange without ever touching the financial core.

Why a Separate EVM?

Hyperliquid's dual-engine architecture reflects a fundamental design philosophy: separation of responsibilities.

Running a high-speed exchange inside a traditional EVM creates problems—latency, gas contention, and the risk that buggy smart contracts could affect exchange operations. By isolating HyperCore from general-purpose computation, Hyperliquid achieves:

• Protected financial core: Smart contract bugs cannot break the exchange
• No gas competition: Your lending protocol doesn't compete with order execution
• Clear boundaries: Developers know exactly what they can and cannot do
• Permissionless innovation: Build anything without risking exchange stability

What HyperEVM Is (and Isn't)

What it IS:

• A fully EVM-compatible execution environment
• Permissionless—anyone can deploy contracts
• Gas-based—transactions pay gas like any EVM chain
• Solidity-compatible—standard tooling works (Foundry, Hardhat, etc.)

What it ISN'T:

• A native DeFi platform (no built-in lending, AMMs, etc.)
• Direct access to HyperCore's matching engine
• A way to influence execution order in HyperCore

The columns shown in Hyperliquid's stack diagram under HyperEVM—"Borrowing & Lending," "Auctions," "Native Stablecoins," "Bridges"—represent types of applications that can be built, not protocol-native features.

Block Structure: Small and Large EVM Blocks

HyperEVM execution is scheduled using two types of blocks:

Small EVM Blocks: Produced frequently (currently every ~1 second) for regular transactions and lightweight contract interactions.

Large EVM Blocks: Produced at a slower cadence (currently every ~1 minute) for heavier operations like contract deployments or complex logic.

Not every L1 block produces an EVM block. However, when an EVM block is produced, it is derived from and finalized under the same L1 block ordering and consensus as HyperCore operations.

This design allows Hyperliquid to decouple block speed from block size for EVM execution while maintaining a single, coherent L1 state.

Execution Ordering

The relationship between HyperCore and HyperEVM execution follows a strict pattern:

1. A user submits an order; it enters block N
2. HyperCore processes all financial operations for block N
3. Financial state becomes final and deterministic
4. If block N includes EVM execution, smart contracts can observe the finalized state
5. There is no "contract executed before the trade was final"

Everything moves block by block, in the same order, under the same consensus.

Use Cases for HyperEVM

Borrowing & Lending

Deploy money markets, lending pools, or yield strategies using assets from HyperCore. Note: HyperCore has internal margin primitives, but full DeFi lending markets are HyperEVM territory.

Auctions

Build arbitrary auction mechanisms—liquidation auctions, NFT auctions, or novel price discovery systems—as smart contracts.

Native Stablecoins

Create collateralized or algorithmic stablecoins. However, tokens deployed on HyperEVM do not automatically become usable for HyperCore margin or risk calculations.

Bridges

While Hyperliquid has its own L1 bridge, HyperEVM allows builders to create additional cross-chain connectivity systems.

"And More"

The Hyperliquid team explicitly acknowledges they can't predict everything that will be built. HyperEVM is designed for applications that don't exist yet.

Communication with HyperCore

Smart contracts on HyperEVM cannot directly call HyperCore functions. The two engines communicate through specific mechanisms:

• Precompiles: Special addresses that expose read-only HyperCore state
• System Transfers: Moving assets between HyperCore and HyperEVM
• Event Observation: Contracts can react to finalized HyperCore state

The details of this cross-engine communication are covered in Part 2 of the Hyperliquid architecture series.

Security Considerations

Isolation Guarantees: Bugs in your HyperEVM contracts cannot affect HyperCore. The financial engine is protected by architectural separation, not just access controls.

State Consistency: Both engines share consensus, so you're always seeing consistent state. There's no "HyperCore is ahead of HyperEVM" situation.

Gas Market: Unlike HyperCore (which doesn't compete for gas), HyperEVM operations are prioritized by gas price. Standard MEV considerations apply to your contracts.

Asset Movement: Moving assets between HyperCore and HyperEVM involves bridge mechanisms with their own security properties. Understand these before designing cross-engine flows.

No Oracle Influence: Your contracts observe HyperCore's price oracles; they cannot manipulate them. This is a feature, not a limitation.

Development Experience

If you know Solidity, you'll feel at home on HyperEVM:

1// Standard Solidity works
2contract MyProtocol {
3    // Your logic here
4}

Standard tooling works:

• Foundry: forge create, cast, etc.
• Hardhat: Deploy scripts and tests
• Ethers.js/Viem: Frontend integration

The main difference is understanding the relationship with HyperCore and designing your contracts to complement rather than compete with the native financial engine.

What Developers Should Know

1. You're building around HyperCore, not inside it: Design for observation and extension, not modification
2. Block timing differs: Small vs. large EVM blocks affect when your code executes
3. Cross-engine communication has rules: Learn the precompiles and bridge mechanisms
4. Gas matters here: Unlike HyperCore, your contracts compete for block space
5. Finality is instant: No reorg handling needed; finalized state is permanent

HyperEVM is the permissionless creative space that makes Hyperliquid an ecosystem, not just an exchange. It's where the next generation of DeFi applications will be built on top of a natively integrated, high-performance trading infrastructure.