Hyperliquid Taps Kraken's Compliance Rails for U.S. Market Entry

Hyperliquid is expanding into the US market through a partnership with Kraken's parent company Payward. The proposed deal would allow users in the United States to access selected crypto perpetual futures linked to Hyperliquid markets via Bitnomial, a regulated exchange owned by Payward.

The arrangement requires regulatory approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which has already allowed designated contract markets to list Bitcoin perpetual contracts as futures products. The partnership would test a new market structure where licensed US institutions handle customer identification, asset management, and regulatory obligations, while an open blockchain provides matching, price discovery, and settlement.

Bitnomial's acquisition of CFTC licenses as a designated contract market, derivatives clearing organization, and futures commission merchant provides the regulatory foundation for the proposed partnership. The CFTC has to assess the perpetual contracts, clearing institutions, and L1 network carrying the transactions.