Hyperliquid Labs is reportedly working on a way to give U.S. traders access to crypto perpetual futures tied to its markets. Bloomberg reported the talks, saying the route would go through Payward, Kraken’s parent company, and Bitnomial, the CFTC-regulated subsidiary Payward bought earlier this year.
A regulated window into Hyperliquid’s markets
Hyperliquid’s decentralized exchange handles more than $4 billion in daily volume, but it has kept American users off the platform. The plan would not change that directly. Instead, Bitnomial would list a limited set of perpetual futures based on Hyperliquid’s markets. U.S. customers would trade that regulated product, with Bitnomial sitting between them and the decentralized system underneath.
Bitnomial already holds the licenses needed for this kind of work. Payward agreed to buy it earlier this year for up to $550 million, picking up CFTC-approved exchange, clearing and brokerage functions. That is the main reason the deal is even possible. Building a compliant venue from nothing would take much longer.
Regulators still have questions
No final approval has been issued. Payward has shared the broad outline with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, but regulators are still reviewing whether the structure works under existing rules. Ashley Ebersole, a former SEC counsel now at real-world asset platform tx., thinks both the SEC and the CFTC will need to weigh in on custody and routing standards. Her estimate was that approval could take ten to twelve months, even in a best-case scenario.
That timeline is not surprising. U.S. regulators have repeatedly flagged decentralized platforms for risks tied to market manipulation, anti-money laundering and sanctions enforcement. Even when the decentralized exchange is only indirectly involved, those concerns tend to slow the review process.
The broader environment has shifted, though. The CFTC cleared KalshiEX and Coinbase to list crypto perpetual futures in May, then opened a request for comment on crude oil perpetual contracts and 24/7 trading in June. President Donald Trump has also mentioned Hyperliquid by name, saying CFTC Chair Michael Selig was working to bring the platform into the U.S. regulatory system. Hyperliquid’s own policy arm has pushed the SEC and CFTC to harmonize their treatment of perpetual contracts, arguing that clearer rules would pull trading volume onshore.
What a green light would prove
If the proposal gets approved, it could become a template for other offshore or decentralized platforms. Rather than asking for direct U.S. access, they might partner with a licensed venue and keep the decentralized exchange at arm’s length. The question is how much flexibility regulators will show in the rulebook before they are ready to say yes.
HYPE, Hyperliquid’s token, has been rising along with the news. It traded near $84 at last check, up more than 85% over the past year, and recently hit an all-time high just above $86. Those gains suggest the market sees real potential in the deal. Still, it remains a proposal on a regulator’s desk, not a live product. Traders will have to wait.
