Hyperliquid Taps Kraken Parent for US Crypto Perpetuals Push

Perpetual contracts, derivatives with no expiry date, use recurring funding payments to keep prices aligned with underlying assets. Once concentrated in cryptocurrency markets, they are expanding into equities and commodities as platforms such as Hyperliquid broaden their offerings. That growth has sharpened a central US regulatory question: whether a contract falls under the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and what compliance path applies.

The Hyperliquid Policy Center has submitted comments urging the SEC and CFTC to align how perpetual contracts are classified, supervised and enforced, seeking to prevent conflicting treatment of similar products tied to different assets. In a related push, the center and TradeXYZ called on the CFTC to create a pathway for US oil perpetuals. The reports disclosed no contract volume, dollar value or firm implementation date, leaving the agencies’ next steps uncertain.

Hyperliquid, a decentralized trading platform best known for on-chain perpetual futures and other crypto derivatives, is considering an expansion into the United States. A US entry would place the HYPE token issuer and trading venue in one of the world’s deepest capital markets, while exposing it to stricter rules governing derivatives, customer access and digital-asset platforms. The move could become an important test of how decentralized exchanges pursue growth in regulated jurisdictions.

The latest Morning Minute reported that Hyperliquid is coming to the US, but the available report did not specify a launch date, operating structure, licensing plan or investment amount. The briefing also highlighted current market moves in Bitcoin, Ether and Hyperliquid’s HYPE token alongside other major and actively traded cryptocurrencies. However, the supplied event details did not include exact prices, percentage changes or an as-of timestamp, leaving the timing and commercial scope of the expansion unconfirmed.

Decentralized exchange Hyperliquid is challenging traditional Wall Street finance with onchain perpetual contracts. The platform aims to remove trading restrictions on traditional assets as it expands beyond cryptocurrencies into derivatives tied to stocks, commodities and other conventional financial instruments. The technology enables round-the-clock trading while sharply lowering barriers to entry and intermediary costs, making it strategically important to the integration of onchain finance into global capital markets and their broader transformation.

According to a report published by crypto venture capital firm Pantera Capital in July 2026, Hyperliquid’s potential daily notional trading volume could reach $10 trillion. The report estimated that a low-single-digit share of traditional financial markets could increase the platform’s annual revenue fivefold, from the current $800 million to $3.7 billion. Regulatory risk remains the biggest uncertainty, however, and Hyperliquid could face fierce competition from established players such as Intercontinental Exchange, or ICE.

Perpetual futures have no expiry date and use funding rates to keep contract prices close to spot prices. They are a mainstay of the global crypto derivatives market, which recorded more than $60 trillion in trading volume in 2025. Kraken parent Payward announced on April 17, 2026, that it would acquire Bitnomial for up to $550 million, gaining its CFTC-licensed exchange, clearinghouse and futures commission merchant to establish a regulated foundation for bringing the products back to the United States.

Kraken initially said in late May 2026 that it would launch the contracts within 30 days. On June 15, it formally made them available to eligible U.S. clients through Kraken Pro, with the contracts listed on Bitnomial. The initial offering covers nine assets: BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, ADA, LINK, DOGE, LTC and AVAX. Trading is integrated with spot, margin and CME futures in a single interface.

Hyperliquid began as an onchain venue for crypto perpetual futures. Through HIP-3, it now allows builders to launch round-the-clock markets for equities, commodities, foreign exchange and Pre-IPO assets, while HIP-4 marks its entry into event prediction. The strategy brings crypto assets, RWAs and outcome contracts under a single account, expanding its competitive field from CME Group to Kalshi and Polymarket.

HIP-4 went live on May 2, 2026, followed on May 25 by offchain event markets settled by validators. The first markets covered May's year-on-year CPI rate and the Federal Reserve's June interest-rate decision. FalconX said the 21Shares and Bitwise HYPE spot ETFs recorded combined net inflows of $53 million over several days. Hyperliquid's USDC partnership with Coinbase and Circle is estimated to generate $160 million in annual revenue.

On March 16, 2026, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on prediction markets, RIN 3038-AF65, seeking input on market oversight and the public-interest boundaries governing event contracts. The Hyperliquid Policy Center was concerned that rules based on assumptions about centralized exchanges could leave non-custodial onchain markets without a lawful path to operate.

On April 30, 2026, the consultation deadline, HPC submitted a 15-page comment letter, CFTC No. 115408. It called for flexible, function-based rules, a clear legal pathway for U.S. users to participate in decentralized prediction markets and support for U.S. onchain financial innovation. The letter did not discuss any investment amount; its policy objective was to provide regulatory certainty for Hyperliquid and HIP-4 outcome markets.