Decentralized exchange platform Hyperliquid processes over $4 billion in daily trading volume despite strictly prohibiting United States users from directly accessing its services. That restriction may soon come to an end. Hyperliquid Labs and Payward, Kraken’s parent company, are in advanced talks to offer select perpetual futures products to retail traders in the United States.
They are not building a new entity. Both companies will leverage Bitnomial - a derivatives exchange regulated by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) that Payward acquired for $550 million on May 1. Bitnomial holds three key operational licenses: DCM, DCO, and FCM. Under this framework, Bitnomial handles the US trading venue, customer access, and compliance matters, while Hyperliquid’s technology powers the underlying derivatives products.
Proposal Already Before the CFTC
Payward has submitted a proposal framework to the CFTC, according to a Bloomberg report. There is no certainty yet regarding a target launch date or commercial details between the two parties. Payward and Kraken themselves have experience with this route, having launched perpetual futures for United States customers via the Bitnomial platform since June.
Hyperliquid’s move to seek a legal pathway aligns with the massive transaction volume on its platform. Over its first 10 months of operation, the platform’s HIP-3 initiative processed more than $480 billion in cumulative notional volume. The HYPE token also responded to the move, trading at $84.50, up 3% in the past 24 hours, extending its price rally to over 60% since early August.
A Long Road Ahead With Regulators
Support from political figures in Washington has already surfaced. During a White House event on August 19, President Trump touched upon the efforts of both companies, mentioning that CFTC Chairman Michael Selig is looking into a dedicated compliance pathway for Hyperliquid. However, backing from the executive branch does not necessarily fast-track bureaucratic procedures.
Former SEC senior legal counsel Ashley Ebersole estimates that the regulatory approval process will still take 10 to 12 months, even with regulators working at full capacity. The root of the issue lies in the foundational regulatory structure: United States law does not yet provide a dedicated pathway for firms to offer offshore-style crypto perpetual futures to domestic retail customers.
Bringing crypto derivative instruments into the formal United States regulatory framework takes time. The collaboration between Hyperliquid and Payward proves that reaching the world’s largest retail market requires companies to submit to the slow pace of bureaucracy rather than seeking loopholes to bypass it. Reported via crypto.news.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
