Hyperliquid in Talks with Kraken's Parent Company Payward for U.S. Expansion

Will it be possible to provide services to U.S. users?

It has been revealed that the decentralized derivatives trading platform "Hyperliquid" is in discussions with Payward, the parent company of the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, regarding entry into the U.S. market. Bloomberg reported this on August 31, citing sources familiar with the matter.

According to the report, if regulatory approval is obtained, there is a possibility that Hyperliquid could offer some perpetual futures based on its technology to registered U.S. users through the derivatives exchange "Bitnomial," which operates under the regulation of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and is a subsidiary of Payward.

Perpetual futures refer to derivative products that have no expiration date and continue to be linked to the price of the underlying asset through a funding rate, which have become popular in cryptocurrency trading.

Hyperliquid is a decentralized trading platform that operates a high-speed order book on its own Layer 1 blockchain without a central operator. It has rapidly grown, focusing on perpetual futures trading, with daily trading volumes exceeding $4 billion, capturing a significant share of the decentralized perpetual futures market.

On the other hand, it has restricted usage by U.S. customers, and direct access is blocked.

Hyperliquid's main development company, Hyperliquid Labs (based in Singapore), has not registered with the CFTC, so under U.S. law, it cannot offer derivatives trading to U.S. users on its platform.

By using Bitnomial, which is regulated by the CFTC, as a trading infrastructure in the U.S., Hyperliquid Labs may pave the way for entry into the U.S. market. According to reports, Payward has already submitted a proposal to the CFTC outlining the structure of this transaction.

No official comments have been made by Payward or Hyperliquid Labs.

As a New Model

This discussion not only influences the success of Hyperliquid's entry into the U.S. but could also serve as an important precedent in the regulatory framework for DeFi (decentralized finance).

The platform adopts a permissionless design, allowing anyone to participate in trading without needing individual permission from administrators. Meanwhile, regulators are increasingly wary that such structures could pose risks of market manipulation, money laundering, and evasion of sanctions.

The Hyperliquid policy advocacy group, Hyperliquid Policy Center (HPC), argues that the platform should be treated not as a traditional exchange but as a "financial infrastructure" that supports trading, clearing, and settlement underneath.

Jake Chervinsky, CEO of the group, indicated that if it is a regulated exchange, it could provide an on-chain market for trading, clearing, and settlement on Hyperliquid while complying with applicable laws.

If the partnership between Bitnomial and Hyperliquid is realized, compliance in the U.S. market would be handled by Bitnomial, which is already under CFTC regulation. Bitnomial has obtained multiple licenses related to derivatives exchanges, clearinghouses, and clearing brokers.

In the anticipated structure, rather than directly applying the same regulations as traditional financial operators to the protocol itself, compliance measures such as Know Your Customer (KYC), Anti-Money Laundering (AML), and transaction monitoring would be the responsibility of exchanges or brokers that have contact with U.S. investors.

This case is attracting attention as a new model for decentralized protocols to partner with regulatory infrastructure for market entry. If approved by regulators, it could serve as a precedent for decentralized protocols based in foreign locations to enter the U.S. market.

Political Tailwinds

Supporting Hyperliquid's entry into the U.S. is the cryptocurrency policy of the Trump administration.

In August, President Trump mentioned the potential for Hyperliquid's U.S. expansion at an event held at the White House. "The CFTC is working to introduce this platform to the U.S. market in a fully compliant and legal manner," he stated.

At the time of this statement, CFTC Chairman Michael C. Selig was also present. While the CFTC avoided specific comments on the discussions, it expressed that "if we cannot adapt to the rapid evolution of financial markets and trading technologies, it could lead to a loss of our position as the center of financial innovation."

The Trump administration is advancing the "onshoring" of cryptocurrency trading that had been flowing overseas under U.S. regulation, focusing on how to incorporate large on-chain markets like Hyperliquid within the framework of U.S. laws and regulations. The discussions with Payward align with this policy direction.