HPC Seeks CFTC Approval for Regulated Energy Perpetual Contracts

The Hyperliquid Policy Center (HPC) has filed a joint comment letter with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to create a regulated path for energy perpetual contracts in the United States.

HPC argues that regulated, round-the-clock markets could help businesses manage oil and gas price risk during sudden market shocks when traditional venues are closed.

The CFTC has been reviewing perpetual contracts beyond digital assets since May, but those contracts remained limited to digital asset underliers. In June, the Commission requested comments on energy perpetual contracts tied to physically delivered, storable commodities, covering areas such as contract design, reference prices, clearing, customer protection, market integrity, and continuous trading.

HPC says energy perpetual contracts could work alongside dated futures rather than replace them, offering smaller trade sizes and no expiration dates. The group points to the recent Middle East conflict as an example of how oil markets were closed during disruptions, but traders outside the U.S. used oil-linked perpetual contracts on Hyperliquid.

The HPC proposal does not seek new legislation, arguing that the existing CFTC framework can support energy perpetual contracts with suitable safeguards such as leverage limits and clear disclosure of funding and liquidation rules.