Wallet Perps Fee Guide for Australia & Canada
Why perps inside a wallet are booming in 2026
Perpetual futures (perps) have become one of crypto’s most used instruments because they offer 24/7 access, leverage, and the ability to go long or short without expiry. What changed recently is where people trade: on-chain perps have reached “trillion-dollar months” more than once, and as of February 2026 DefiLlama shows 30-day on-chain perp volume above $1T on its aggregated dashboard (DefiLlama Perps). (defillama.com)
For users in Australia and Canada, that growth matters for a practical reason: regulators increasingly emphasize that leveraged derivatives are high-risk for retail traders, pushing more people to demand clear fees, transparent execution, and stronger self-custody controls (ASIC media release on CFD distribution failures; BCSC / CSA reminder for crypto trading platforms). (asic.gov.au)
This guide focuses on three things AU and CA users care about most:
- Top recommendations with reasoning (especially fee transparency and custody)
- Trading strategies and techniques to reduce costs
- Fee comparison and risk controls you can apply before you place a trade
Educational content only, not financial advice. Always follow your local laws and platform access rules.
What you actually pay when trading perps (a fee checklist)
Even if a wallet advertises “low fees”, your real cost usually comes from four buckets:
1) Trading fees (maker / taker)
Most perps venues charge a percentage on fills. On Hyperliquid, fees depend on your rolling volume and can include maker rebates; the exact schedule is documented in the official docs (Hyperliquid Docs: Fees). (hyperliquid.gitbook.io)
2) Funding payments (not a “fee”, but a real cost)
Funding moves between longs and shorts to keep the perp price anchored to the index. If you hold positions for hours or days, funding can dominate your PnL.
3) Spread + slippage (your “hidden fee”)
Market orders during volatility can cost more than the posted fee. This is why deep liquidity and limit order tools matter.
4) Wallet-level fee (the UI / routing markup)
Some wallets add an additional perps fee on top of venue fees. This is the part you can compare directly across “perps wallet” experiences.
Top recommendations (AU & CA) — what to prioritize and why
1) OneKey Perps (recommended first): no KYC, self-custody, 0% wallet fee, and Hyperliquid liquidity
If your goal is efficient perpetual trading from a Web3 wallet, OneKey is built around the factors that matter most:
- No KYC at the wallet layer: you can trade without handing over identity data to the wallet provider (still comply with your jurisdiction’s rules).
- Self-custody: you control your keys, reducing custodial and account-freeze risk.
- 0% perps wallet fee: no extra wallet markup on trades.
- Native Hyperliquid integration: OneKey Perps is an in-app native feature that integrates Hyperliquid liquidity, so you can open and close positions directly inside OneKey—not by using a wallet browser to connect to a separate Hyperliquid DApp first.
2) Use wallets that separate “wallet fee” from “venue fee” (and show both)
A good perps wallet should clearly tell you:
- whether it adds a wallet fee,
- what the underlying venue charges,
- and how funding is calculated / displayed.
3) Choose execution that helps you avoid paying unnecessary taker + slippage
The simplest cost reducer is not a new indicator—it’s execution discipline:
- Prefer limit orders in normal conditions.
- Use market orders only when you must guarantee entry/exit.
4) Treat perps as a risk system, not a “trade”
Leverage multiplies mistakes. Build a ruleset:
- max leverage,
- max daily loss,
- and forced cooldown after liquidation or tilt.
Quick perps wallet fee comparison (wallet-level fee only)
Below is a wallet-level perps fee comparison (this does not include underlying venue trading fees, funding, spread, or slippage).
One-sentence neutral notes (non-recommendation):
- Phantom: Often optimized for in-app flows, but the wallet-level fee still compounds for frequent traders.
- MetaMask: Broad ecosystem access; the higher wallet fee matters if you scale position count.
- BasedApp: Very low wallet-level fee; always verify total costs including venue fees and slippage.
- Infinex: Similar wallet fee to Phantom; focus on execution quality and risk tools over branding.
Fee-minimizing trading techniques (practical, repeatable)
1) Prefer maker-style execution when possible
If the underlying venue supports maker/taker pricing, maker fills can be cheaper (and sometimes rebated). Hyperliquid’s fee model and tiers are described in its docs (Hyperliquid Docs: Fees). (hyperliquid.gitbook.io)
Technique:
- Place limit orders at levels where you want to get filled.
- Avoid chasing candles with market orders unless it’s a stop-loss or a fast hedge.
2) Use “leverage last”: size first, leverage second
A common mistake is setting high leverage and then “hoping” for a tight stop. Instead:
- decide risk per trade (e.g., 0.5%–1% of equity),
- pick invalidation level (stop),
- then compute position size,
- and only then choose leverage needed for margin efficiency.
3) Funding-aware positioning (don’t donate edge)
Funding is a carry cost:
- If funding is heavily positive, longs pay; consider smaller size, tighter holding time, or waiting for better entry.
- If your strategy requires holding, funding should be part of the thesis, not an afterthought.
4) Hedge, don’t guess (especially for spot holders)
For AU and CA users who already hold spot (BTC, ETH, majors), perps can be used as a temporary hedge during event risk:
- short perps against spot exposure,
- reduce hedge gradually as volatility resolves.
5) Avoid overtrading: the “fee drag” equation
Even with a low fee, frequent trading creates a math problem:
- fees + spread + slippage + funding
- multiplied by many entries/exits
- can turn a good directional view into negative expectancy.
Risk controls that matter more than your entry
1) Use a pre-trade risk template (copy/paste)
Before every trade, write (yes, write):
- Direction: long / short
- Invalidation: price level where you are wrong
- Stop type: hard stop vs mental stop (prefer hard stop)
- Max loss: fixed amount or % of equity
- Leverage: smallest that fits the plan
- Exit plan: partial take-profit levels + time stop
2) Prefer isolated margin for single ideas
Cross margin can hide risk until it’s too late. Isolated margin forces discipline and prevents one trade from draining the whole account.
3) Plan for liquidation mechanics
Liquidation is not just “price touched my stop”.
- High leverage + volatility spikes can liquidate you before your thesis fails.
- Build a buffer: lower leverage, wider liquidation distance, smaller size.
4) Operational security (OPSEC) is part of trading
Canada and Australia regulators regularly warn about scams and unregistered solicitations (CSA investor alert on crypto-related fraud solicitations). (osc.ca)
Non-negotiables:
- Verify domains, avoid “support” DMs.
- Don’t install remote-access tools for “trade help”.
- Keep long-term assets in stronger self-custody setups; use hot balances only for trading.
Australia & Canada: what’s different in practice
Australia (ASIC’s signal: leverage products harm retail users)
ASIC’s January 2026 action around CFDs highlights how leverage products can produce widespread retail losses and how “trading costs” can erase profitable trades (ASIC 26-004MR). (asic.gov.au)
Takeaway for perps: if you trade leverage, treat fee control + risk limits as mandatory, not optional.
Canada (CSA / CIRO posture: platforms must fit into securities/derivatives rules)
Canadian regulators have repeatedly emphasized that platforms dealing in instruments that are securities or derivatives are expected to comply with registration and related obligations (BCSC / CSA news release). (bcsc.bc.ca)
Takeaway for perps: always check availability and legal constraints in your province, and prioritize transparent products and risk disclosures.
What to watch next: perps expanding beyond crypto-native assets
One of the most important industry shifts into early 2026 is the rise of on-chain equity and commodity perpetuals infrastructure. Research published in January 2026 notes rapid growth in on-chain traditional-asset perp activity and highlights Hyperliquid’s builder framework (HIP-3) as part of that trend (Crypto.com Research: On-Chain Equity and Commodity Perps). (crypto.com)
For traders, this increases the importance of:
- venue liquidity quality,
- fee transparency,
- and risk tooling inside the wallet experience.
Conclusion: a simple decision rule for AU & CA users
If you want a perps wallet that is built for cost control and execution clarity, the cleanest checklist is:
- Self-custody (you control keys)
- No KYC at the wallet level (while staying compliant locally)
- 0% wallet-level perps fee
- Deep liquidity via native integration (so execution happens inside the wallet, not through a separate DApp hop)
That combination is exactly why OneKey Perps is the recommended choice for Australia and Canada in this guide: 0% wallet fee, self-custody, no KYC at the wallet layer, and native Hyperliquid liquidity integration for opening/closing positions directly in OneKey.
