> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.buoy.finance/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.buoy.finance/for-vault-leaders/trading-and-capital.md).

# Trading & Managing Capital

Once your trading agent is live, you trade the vault's capital like a normal Hyperliquid account. This page covers where that capital lives and how to actually place trades on it.

## One balance, every venue

Buoy vaults run in HyperCore's **unified-account** mode. That means the vault has a **single USDC balance on spot that collateralizes everything**: the default perp DEX, every HIP-3 builder market, and HIP-4 outcome markets. Margin is drawn automatically when you open a position and returned when you close it.

Practically, this means **there is nothing to move**. There's no spot↔perp transfer step, no per-DEX funding, and no capital-allocation UI in the app — because none is needed. Just open the position; the collateral follows.

Some USDC may briefly sit **on HyperEVM** (inside the vault contract) rather than on HyperCore — freshly deposited funds awaiting bridging, or funds staged to pay withdrawals. That's protocol plumbing, handled for you.

## Seeing where the capital is

The vault's **Overview → TVL Breakdown** tab is the live picture: spot USDC, spot holdings, each perp venue's equity and unrealized PnL, open positions, and EVM-side USDC — the same numbers that feed the vault's NAV. **Overview → Trades** shows your recent fills. Both are public, which is the point: your depositors can verify what you say you do.

## Trading from a terminal

You don't trade from the Buoy app — you trade from a real terminal, connected with the vault's trading-agent key. The **Manage** view carries a step-by-step connection guide that adapts to the terminal you pick, because every terminal names its fields differently and the mapping is genuinely counter-intuitive.

The rule that matters everywhere:

> The **account / main address** is the **vault's address**. Not your wallet. The vault *is* its own HyperCore account — Buoy vaults are not native Hyperliquid vaults.

And the **private key** field always takes the **trading agent's secret** — the one shown once when you set the agent up. Never your wallet's key. Lost it? Rotate the agent to issue a fresh one.

Terminals currently covered by the in-app guide include **Insilico Terminal** and **Tealstreet** (full-featured Hyperliquid trading front-ends), **Pear Protocol** (pair trading — long one asset, short another in a single position) and **Outcome** (the HIP-4 prediction-markets app). Other whitelisted builders get a generic guide.

{% hint style="warning" %}
**Test before you size up.** After connecting, place a small order and confirm the position appears on the **vault** (Overview → TVL Breakdown) — not on your personal account. A misconfigured connection trades your own money instead of the vault's.
{% endhint %}

## Builder fees

**Builders** are trading terminals, platforms and HIP-3 market operators (whitelisted by the protocol) that charge a small fee on trades routed through them. Most terminals route with their own builder code, so **orders are rejected until the vault has approved that builder's fee** — this is step one of every connection guide.

To approve one:

1. Open **Manage → Trading setup → builder fee**.
2. Pick the builder from the whitelist — each entry shows its name, curated fee rate, and address.
3. Optionally override the maximum rate you're willing to authorize.
4. Confirm the transaction.

Two limits are enforced by the contracts, not by trust: only **protocol-whitelisted** builders can be approved by a Leader, and the rate is capped at the vault's ceiling (**0.1%** by default). A builder can never charge more than you authorized. Approving a builder at rate **0** revokes it.

## Ground rules

* **You can never withdraw the vault's capital.** No path exists — not through the app, the agent, or the contracts. Capital only leaves a vault through depositor withdrawals.
* **Every trade is reflected in the share price.** NAV is computed from the vault's live account state across all venues, so your performance — and your drawdowns — are public in real time.
* **Keep withdrawals in mind.** Depositors can exit at any time, and settling them needs free capital. The protocol will close parts of your book if that's the only way to honor an exit. See [Liquidity & Withdrawals](/for-vault-leaders/liquidity-and-withdrawals.md).
* **You share the account with the settlement service.** The fulfiller can close positions and free margin on the vault at any moment to fund a withdrawal. Never assume the book you left is the book you'll come back to.


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