Short answer
A stop loss closes your trade automatically if the price moves against you to a level you choose, so a small loss cannot become a liquidation. A take profit closes it automatically when the price reaches your target, so a win is banked before it turns. On Hyperliquid both trigger on the mark price and fill as market orders by default. On CopyHype, Stop loss closes a trade at -30% or -50% of your amount and Take profit takes the win at +25%, +50% or +100%.
Most trading pain comes from decisions made in the moment. The price drops, you hope it comes back. The price rises, you hope it rises more. Take profit and stop loss let you decide calmly, before any of that, and then the trade follows your plan even while you sleep. This guide explains both, shows where to put them, and covers the traps.
What is a stop loss?
A stop loss is an order that closes your trade by itself if the price moves against you to a level you set. It caps how much a trade can lose before liquidation does it for you.
You go long ETH at $4,000 with $20 at x5, a $100 position. You decide you will not lose more than $5 on this trade. That is a 25% loss on your $20, which at x5 is a 5% move. So you set a stop loss at $3,800. If ETH falls there, your trade closes and you lose about $5, plus fees. Without the stop, the trade would run until liquidation, near an 18% fall, and you would lose almost all $20.
What is a take profit?
A take profit is an order that closes your trade by itself when the price reaches your target. It banks a win before the market changes its mind.
Same trade. You decide a 10% rise in ETH is a great result: that is +$10 at x5, +50% on your $20. You set a take profit at $4,400. If ETH gets there, the trade closes and the win is yours. If ETH reaches $4,390 and turns back, the take profit never fires. That is the trade-off: a target can be missed by a hair.
How do take profit and stop loss work on Hyperliquid?
Both are trigger orders: when the mark price reaches your trigger, an order is sent. By default it is a market order, and you can set a limit price instead. Triggers use the mark price, not the last trade.
Hyperliquid's docs describe stop market and stop limit orders, and take profit orders (take market and take limit) that activate at a trigger price. For a long, a take profit trigger sits above the price and a stop below it; for a short, the opposite. Take profit and stop loss orders are market orders by default, though you can set a limit price (>Hyperliquid docs, order types). The mark price, used for these triggers and for liquidations, combines outside exchange prices with Hyperliquid's own book (>Hyperliquid docs, oracle).
| Item | For a long (Up) | For a short (Down) |
|---|---|---|
| Stop loss trigger | Below the current price | Above the current price |
| Take profit trigger | Above the current price | Below the current price |
| Fills as | Market order by default | Market order by default |
Should my stop loss be a market or a limit order?
Market, for most people. A market stop always closes, maybe at a slightly worse price. A limit stop can be skipped entirely if the price jumps past it.
Imagine the price gaps down straight through your stop. A market stop sells at the next available price: you lose a bit more than planned, but you are out. A limit stop waits for your limit price, which may never come back, and your trade stays open while it keeps falling. The whole point of a stop is to be out. Use market.
For take profits, a limit can make sense: if the price spikes past your target, a limit order still fills at your price or better, as long as the book reaches it.
Where should I put my stop loss?
At the loss you accept, and always well before the liquidation price. Start from the dollars you are fine losing, then turn that into a price.
A simple recipe:
- Decide the most you accept losing on this trade, for example 30% of your amount.
- Divide by the multiplier to get the price move: at x5, 30% is a 6% move.
- Put the stop 6% away from your entry, on the losing side.
- Check it is clearly before the liquidation price the app shows.
| Your amount | Multiplier | Loss you accept | Stop distance from entry |
|---|---|---|---|
| $20 | x2 | 30% ($6) | 15% |
| $20 | x5 | 30% ($6) | 6% |
| $20 | x10 | 30% ($6) | 3% |
| $20 | x20 | 30% ($6) | 1.5% |
Look at the last row. At x20, a 30% loss is only a 1.5% move. A normal wiggle can stop you out. That is a sign the multiplier is too high for the plan, not that the stop is wrong.
Where should I put my take profit?
Where the gain would make you happy, and ideally at least as far from entry as your stop. If your stop risks $6, aim to win at least $6.
Traders call this the risk to reward ratio. If you risk $6 to make $3, you need to be right two times out of three just to break even. If you risk $6 to make $12, being right one time in three is roughly enough. A take profit at least as far as your stop keeps the math on your side. It does not make the trade more likely to win, it makes winning trades count.
Do I always need a take profit?
No. A stop loss matters more. Some strategies let winners run and only use a stop, sometimes moved up as the price rises.
A take profit caps your upside. On a strong trend, it closes you early. A stop loss caps your downside, which is what keeps you in the game. If you only set one, set the stop. When you copy a whale, the whale's exit is the default take profit: they exit, you exit.
How do Stop loss and Take profit work on CopyHype?
Stop loss closes a trade by itself at -30% or -50% of your amount. Take profit closes it at +25%, +50% or +100%. You pick them as fixed choices, Off by default, no prices to type.
| Choice | Closes the trade at | On a $20 amount |
|---|---|---|
| Stop loss -30% | 70% of your amount kept | About $14 kept |
| Stop loss -50% | Half your amount kept | About $10 kept |
| Take profit +25% | A gain of 25% of your amount | About +$5 |
| Take profit +50% | A gain of half your amount | About +$10 |
| Take profit +100% | Your amount doubled | About +$20 |
You set them on the trade ticket before you tap, and you can change them on an open trade. With real money, they sit in Hyperliquid's order book. Before every tap, the ticket shows where the trade would close on its own, where your stop loss sells first, and "The most you can lose". When you copy a whale, you set them once for all their trades, and the whale's own exit still applies: if they close first, you close with them.
What are the common mistakes with stops?
Stops too tight for the multiplier, moving the stop further away when the price gets close, and no stop at all. All three turn small losses into big ones.
- Too tight. A stop inside the normal wiggle of the coin gets hit constantly. Lower the multiplier instead of tightening the stop.
- Moving the stop away. The price nears your stop and you push it further "just this once". That is how a planned 30% loss becomes a liquidation.
- No stop. Then the liquidation price is your stop, and it takes nearly everything.
- Forgetting fees. A stop at -30% loses a little more after fees and slippage.
Frequently asked questions
Does a stop loss guarantee my price?
No. A market stop fills at the next available price once triggered, which in a fast move can be worse than your trigger. It guarantees you get out, not the exact price.
What is the difference between a stop loss and liquidation?
A stop loss is your choice and closes the trade at a loss you picked. Liquidation is the exchange closing the trade because its margin is almost gone, and it takes almost all of your amount.
Can I add a stop loss after opening a trade?
Yes, on Hyperliquid and on CopyHype. It is better to decide it before you open, while you are calm.
Should beginners use take profit?
It helps. Banking a planned win teaches discipline. A stop loss is still the more important of the two.
Do Stop loss and Take profit work on copies?
Yes. You set them in the whale's copy settings, and they apply to each copy of a whale's trade. If the whale exits before either is reached, your copy exits with them.
Where do these facts come from?
From Hyperliquid's official docs on order types and the oracle, and CopyHype's product rules. Sources:
Stop loss, take profit, trigger and mark price are in the perps glossary.
Keep reading
- Leverage explained: what x5, x10 and x50 really do to your moneyCrypto leverage explained simply: what x10 means in dollars, how far price can move before liquidation at each multiplier, and how to pick one.
- 12 perps mistakes beginners make, and how to avoid each oneThe most common perps mistakes: max leverage, cross margin, no stop loss, revenge trading, ignoring fees and funding, tiny deposits, and the fixes.
- Hyperliquid for beginners: your first perps trade, step by stepA beginner's guide to Hyperliquid perps: what you need, how to deposit, how to place a first long or short safely, and which settings to pick.