> 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/resources/faq.md). # FAQ ## Deposits & withdrawals ### I deposited but my Buoys haven't arrived — is something wrong? Almost certainly not. Deposits settle **asynchronously**: your USDC is escrowed instantly, then the settlement service values the vault and mints your shares — typically within a minute or two. Your deposit shows as a **Pending** card in the vault panel until then. If it's still pending after 30 minutes, a Cancel button appears and you can reclaim your USDC in full. ### Why is my withdrawal taking longer than my deposit did? Withdrawals sometimes need the vault to physically free up cash — bridging USDC back from the trading layer or closing positions. Once your withdrawal shows **Locked**, the exact USDC amount you'll receive is fixed and recorded on-chain; the remaining wait only affects *when* it arrives. See [Withdrawing](/for-depositors/withdrawing.md). ### What exactly do I get back if I cancel? Your principal, always: a cancelled deposit returns your full USDC; a cancelled withdrawal returns your original Buoys (re-minted, if the request was already Locked — you're restored to your prior share position). The only thing not refunded is the small fixed request fee in HYPE. Details in [Cancelling a Request](/for-depositors/cancelling-a-request.md). ### The app says "Not whitelisted", "Vault is full" or "Max deposit is …" — what's going on? That vault has **deposit limits** set by its Leader and enforced by the contract: a depositor whitelist, a cap on the vault's value, or a minimum share the Leader must keep holding. *Not whitelisted* means only listed addresses can deposit (ask the Leader); *Vault is full* means there's no room under the cap or the Leader's minimum share right now; *Max deposit is X* is how much room is left. None of these ever affects a withdrawal. See [Depositing](/for-depositors/depositing.md#vaults-with-deposit-limits). ### I don't have any USDC on HyperEVM — do I have to bridge it myself? No. Hit **+ TOP UP** in a vault's deposit panel (or just type an amount larger than your balance) and an in-app widget opens where you can bridge or buy USDC straight onto HyperEVM. ### Is there a lockup or minimum holding period? No. You can request a withdrawal at any time, for any amount. The minimum deposit is 1 USDC. ### Can I transfer my Buoys to another wallet? Yes — Buoys are standard ERC-20 tokens. Whoever holds them owns the corresponding claim on the vault, including the right to withdraw. ## Safety ### Can the Leader steal my funds? No — and not because they promise not to. The smart contracts give the Leader **no code path** to withdraw or redirect vault funds. A Leader can *lose* money by trading badly, which is the risk you accept when choosing a vault, but custody theft is structurally impossible. See [Security & Trust](/protocol-deep-dive/security-and-trust.md). ### What am I actually trusting, then? Three things: the protocol's settlement service to value vaults honestly, the protocol admin's keys (pause and upgrade powers), and Hyperliquid's underlying infrastructure. The full, honest breakdown is in [Risks & Trust Model](/for-depositors/risks.md). ### Can a Leader trap my money with a whitelist or a cap? No. Deposit limits are checked only when money comes **in**. Whatever Buoys you hold, you can redeem them at any time — a Leader removing you from the whitelist, lowering your cap or capping the vault changes nothing about your exit. ### What happens if a vault is paused? Deposits and withdrawals are temporarily frozen; the vault's capital and your shares are untouched. Pausing is a protocol safety brake — when the vault is unpaused, everything resumes, including your right to cancel anything left pending. ### What happens if the vault loses everything? Vaults trade leveraged perps: severe loss is possible, and in the extreme a share price can go toward zero. Buoy does not insure trading losses. Diversify across vaults and size deposits accordingly. ## Fees & returns ### What fees do I pay? Only two: the vault's **performance fee** (set by the Leader, charged solely on new profit highs — already reflected in every number you see) and a fixed **0.01 HYPE request fee** per deposit/withdrawal request. There is no management fee and no percentage taken from deposits or withdrawals. The referral fee that funds the rewards program is carved *out of* the performance fee (currently 10% of it), never charged on top of it. See [Fees](/for-depositors/fees.md). ### Do I pay the performance fee if the vault loses money? No. The fee applies only to gains above the vault's all-time-high share price. After a loss, the Leader earns nothing until that high is beaten again. ### What does the APR (30D) number actually mean? It's the vault's dollar PnL over the trailing 30 days divided by the equity that produced it, extrapolated ×12 — the same method Hyperliquid uses for its own vaults, so the two are directly comparable. A **losing** month is shown as the raw past-month return, not annualized: losses are never extrapolated. ### Why do young vaults show odd numbers? A vault younger than 30 days annualizes over the full 30-day window instead of its short lifetime, so a good first day can't explode into an absurd figure. It still isn't a meaningful forecast — a week of data is a week of data. Judge young vaults by their chart, their positions and their description. ### Is the projected yield guaranteed? No — it's an extrapolation of the vault's recent 30-day performance, shown to give the deposit a sense of scale. Real returns depend entirely on future trading. ## Referrals ### How do I get a referral link? Open **Referrals** in the app with your wallet connected — your link is already there. Codes are derived from your wallet address (its first eight characters), so there's nothing to create, no minimum volume, and nobody can take your code. See [How Referrals Work](/referral-program/referral-program.md). ### What do I earn for inviting someone? A share of the referral fee on every vault your invitee holds — currently 60% of it, which works out to about 12% of the fee they pay — for as long as they stay invested. It's paid in USDC and claimable any time from the Referrals page. ### I joined through someone's link — what's in it for me? You get part of the referral fee on your own deposits back in USDC (currently 40% of it, about 8% of the fee you pay). The invitation activates with one wallet signature when you first connect — no gas — and it has to happen **before your first deposit**. ### Does being referred cost me anything? No. The performance fee is exactly the same for everyone; the referral rewards come out of the referral fee carved from it. Nobody is charged for the program. ### Can I change who referred me, or refer myself? No on both counts. An invitation is first-touch and permanent, and a wallet can't be its own invitee. The program is single-level: you earn from wallets you invited, not from wallets they invite. ## Product & platform ### What network and tokens does Buoy use? Buoy runs on **HyperEVM** (chain ID 999). You deposit **USDC** and need a little **HYPE** for gas and request fees. The app switches your wallet to the right network automatically. ### Who can create a vault? Anyone, in about a minute, for 1 USDC. See [Creating a Vault](/for-vault-leaders/creating-a-vault.md). ### Where does the trading actually happen? On **Hyperliquid** — vault capital trades from the vault's own HyperCore account across spot, the default perp DEX, HIP-3 builder markets and HIP-4 outcome markets: the same venues you'd trade on directly. The vault page shows the live book (**TVL** tab) and recent fills (**Trades** tab), so you can see exactly what a vault is doing. ### Is every vault run by a human trader? No. Some vaults are driven by **automated strategies** — including vaults operated by the Buoy team — and their descriptions say so. The custody guarantees are identical either way; the trading risk is too. ### Can a Leader change their vault's details after launch? Some of them. Leaders can update the vault's declared **risk level**, **strategy** and **X profile** at any time (a wallet signature, no gas), and can change the vault's **TVL cap** and **depositor whitelist** on-chain. The **ticker**, the **performance fee**, the referral fee carved from it and the **minimum leader share** are fixed at creation — a Leader cannot raise their own fee on you, and cannot walk back the skin in the game they promised. --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. 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