Hyperliquid Energy Perpetuals Seeks CFTC Approval for Regulated US Entry

Hyperliquid Energy Perpetuals is seeking approval from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to enter regulated markets. The proposal, submitted on August 26, targets contracts tied to WTI crude, Brent crude, and Henry Hub natural gas.

The Hyperliquid Policy Center and trade[XYZ] argue that current derivatives law already provides a route for these products to enter the market. They claim that perpetual contracts offer benefits such as continuous trading, reduced risk of price manipulation, and improved customer safeguards.

A study in the filing found that during weekend closures, on-chain prices better indicated Sunday reopening levels than Friday benchmarks in almost 75% of cases. The groups also seek approval for eligible stablecoins and tokenized assets as cleared-derivatives margin, citing a current CFTC pilot that permits Bitcoin, Ether, and USDC under reporting and risk controls.

The review covers various aspects, including manipulation risks, reference prices, margin, clearing, surveillance, and customer safeguards. The groups argue that on-chain systems can assist real-time surveillance and execution, while also handling margin checks, settlement, and recordkeeping continuously.