$30M North Korean Fund Laundered Through Offshore Derivatives Exchange Hyperliquid
North Korean hackers have laundered over $30 million worth of Bitcoin through Hyperliquid, an offshore derivatives exchange, over the last three weeks, according to blockchain analysis by Arkham. This development comes at a delicate time as President Donald Trump and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) attempt to bring Hyperliquid within the boundaries of the United States.
The discovery of Arkham's data intensifies the question: can a decentralized venue fall under American regulation without incurring sanctions and unlawful financial risk avoidance? This is the unresolved issue that has been raised by critics, who point out that customer verification, market surveillance, and checking for sanctions are essential processes when onshoring a decentralized platform.
Hyperliquid is currently having discussions with Payward, the parent company of Kraken, regarding a U.S. strategy. Instead of purchasing an exchange with a license, American registered traders will be able to make trades using specific Hyperliquid-related perpetual futures via Bitnomial, the CFTC-regulated clearinghouse operated by Payward.