Hyperliquid Seeks US Regulated Perpetual Futures Access via Payward Partnership

Hyperliquid is one step closer to offering perpetual futures in the US market through a proposed partnership with Payward, the parent company of Kraken, and Bitnomial. The plan involves using Bitnomial's regulated U.S. derivatives infrastructure to give registered US users access to selected crypto perpetual contracts tied to Hyperliquid markets.

Payward acquired Bitnomial earlier this year for up to $550 million, gaining control over its regulated route into the US market. However, the proposed structure still requires final regulatory approval from the CFTC. Ashley Ebersole, a former SEC senior counsel, estimates that revising interpretive rules covering custody and order routing could take at least 10-12 months.

The wider policy debate has also moved toward perpetual contracts, with the Hyperliquid Policy Center recently asking the SEC and CFTC to align their treatment of the products. The CFTC has already allowed KalshiEX and Coinbase to list crypto perpetual futures, and it later sought public comment on crude oil perpetual contracts and round-the-clock trading.