Payward Enters Hyperliquid with On-Chain Perpetual Contracts Market

Payward, the parent company of Kraken, has announced its entry into Hyperliquid, an on-chain perpetual contracts market. This move marks a significant milestone for US users, who have long been unable to participate in on-chain perpetual trading compliantly. The expansion of product offerings by Payward will provide a substantive reference point for Hyperliquid's path to compliance.

According to Arjun Sethi, Co-CEO of Payward, the company aims to be the first US-registered exchange or clearinghouse to deploy a market on Hyperliquid. This move is part of Payward's efforts to make DeFi products more accessible within established regulatory frameworks and broaden participation for everyone.

Hyperliquid has become the best-in-class on-chain solution, with CoinGecko ranking it as the most active on-chain perpetual trading venue in 2025. The protocol processed over $200 billion in volume over the past 30 days, according to DefiLlama data.