Hyperliquid Seeks Regulated Perpetual Contracts for WTI Crude, Brent Crude, and Henry Hub Natural Gas

Hyperliquid Policy Center and trade[XYZ] have asked the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to allow regulated perpetual contracts tied to WTI crude, Brent crude, and Henry Hub natural gas. The group's joint filing on August 26 cited over $500 billion in cumulative trading volume since October 2025.

The groups argue that continuous trading could help U.S. firms hedge energy exposure during weekends. They point out that perpetual contracts do not expire like dated futures, allowing traders to keep their positions open without transferring them into a new delivery month.

A study by the Hyperliquid Policy Center found that crude perpetual prices anticipated nearly 75% of the Sunday reopenings examined. The group also notes that established U.S. futures venues were closed during geopolitical events, such as the Middle East conflict in February 2023, which disrupted energy exports and caused oil prices to fluctuate.

The CFTC has been reviewing the proposal for extending standard energy futures to continuous trading and listing perpetual contracts tied to physical or storable energy commodities. The commission's review covers reference-price reliability, manipulation risks, surveillance, position limits, margin, clearing, customer safeguards, and possible effects on physical energy markets.