A TWAP (time-weighted average price) order takes one large order and slices it into smaller pieces executed steadily over a set duration, instead of dropping the full size into the book at once. It exists to reduce market impact: a trader moving a few million dollars of size doesn't want to be the one candle everyone remembers. Spread over hours, the same size barely shows up in a normal chart.
That's exactly why a running TWAP is worth watching. It's one of the few places size shows up before it's fully priced in, not after.
What the TWAPs page actually shows
Each card is one currently-active TWAP order pulled from the public hypurrscan.io feed and resolved against Hyperliquid's own price data: side (buy or sell), the asset and venue, the remaining notional size, a progress bar showing how much of the order has already executed, whether the slicing is randomized or fixed-interval, and whether it's reduce-only. The address link opens that wallet's full history on hypurrscan.io - positions, past trades, whether this is a repeat large trader or a one-off.
Reading it practically
- Size and duration together, not size alone. $500k over 30 minutes moves a thin book more than $2M spread across two days. Check the remaining time, not just the dollar figure.
- Randomized vs fixed. Randomized slicing is deliberately harder to front-run. Fixed-interval TWAPs are more predictable, and in thin markets can occasionally be leaned against.
- Reduce-only is a different signal. A reduce-only TWAP is closing or de-risking an existing position, not opening a new directional bet. Don't read it the same way as a fresh opening order.
- Check the wallet, not just the order. Click through to the address. A trader with a long, consistent history reads differently than a wallet that appeared an hour ago.
- Cross-reference with Fair Price. A large TWAP dragging the mark price away from the live last price will show up directly on the Fair Price page - the same pressure, seen from a different angle.
What it doesn't tell you
A running TWAP is not a guarantee of continued direction. It can pause, get cancelled mid-way, or the same wallet can reverse with an opposite order five minutes later. Treat it as one input alongside Fair Price gaps and broker arb signals, not a trigger to trade on by itself - and never as financial advice.
Quick checklist
- Note the side, remaining size, and time left together.
- Randomized or fixed - and reduce-only or not.
- Open the wallet's history before assuming intent.
- Check whether Fair Price shows the same pressure from the mark-vs-last angle.