Hyperliquid is preparing a structure that could bring selected on-chain perpetual futures contracts to U.S. customers through regulated intermediaries, with Payward, Kraken’s parent company, positioned as the first proposed CFTC-regulated deployer under Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 market framework. The plan remains conditional on approval from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the access-control technology is currently being tested rather than operating on Hyperliquid’s main network.
The proposed arrangement would divide responsibilities between Hyperliquid’s blockchain-based trading infrastructure and regulated firms responsible for customer access, market operation, and clearing. That division could offer U.S. traders access to Hyperliquid’s fast on-chain order book without requiring the entire protocol or every market deployed on it to become available in the United States.
HYPE, Hyperliquid’s native token, moved back above $80 as the proposal became public, although neither Hyperliquid nor the firms involved have announced a launch date, a finalized product list, or the terms under which U.S. customers could trade.
A regulated route onto Hyperliquid’s trading infrastructure
Under the disclosed model, Hyperliquid would provide the blockchain and on-chain order book that records trading activity. Bitnomial’s exchange and clearing entities would create and manage the relevant derivatives markets, while also handling contract clearing and settlement.
NinjaTrader Clearing would maintain customer accounts. U.S. customers seeking access would need to complete NinjaTrader’s account-opening process and be added to allowlists maintained by both NinjaTrader and Bitnomial before they could trade eligible contracts.
The structure places the customer-facing regulatory obligations with the licensed entities rather than with the underlying blockchain. Those obligations would include onboarding checks, market rules, contract design, clearing arrangements, and compliance procedures required for the specific products offered.
Payward’s role as a proposed deployer under HIP-3 would give it responsibility for its own market deployments. The arrangement would not automatically open all Hyperliquid markets to U.S. users, nor would it change the accessibility of markets already operating on the network.
That distinction limits the initial scope of any U.S. rollout. Each market would need to be approved, deployed, cleared, and operated under the rules applying to the firms involved, creating a more controlled path than simply allowing U.S.-based wallets to interact with an unrestricted protocol interface.
HIP-3 testnet adds account-based access controls
The technical component of the proposal is HIP-3, a framework being tested by Hyperliquid to connect off-chain customer screening with on-chain trading permissions. It would allow a market deployer, or a designated sub-deployer, to maintain an allowlist that determines which accounts can access particular contracts.
An allowlist is a permissions system that restricts activity to approved accounts. In this case, it would connect the identity and eligibility checks completed through regulated firms with the wallet or account used on Hyperliquid’s trading infrastructure.
Hyperliquid has said the feature is optional and would not alter existing markets. Its initial implementation is available on testnet, a separate environment used to test software and market mechanics before a production deployment. The specifications may be adjusted after feedback and ahead of a later network upgrade.
The design addresses a practical obstacle for regulated derivatives activity on public blockchain infrastructure. A conventional futures venue must be able to determine who is trading, enforce product restrictions, and maintain records tied to customer accounts. Public on-chain systems, by contrast, generally allow users to interact through wallets without those controls being embedded at the protocol level.
HIP-3 would provide a way to enforce access restrictions for an individual market while preserving Hyperliquid’s existing on-chain execution and order-book design. It does not remove the need for regulated operators to perform the compliance work associated with serving U.S. customers.
CFTC approval remains the immediate hurdle
The proposed Payward-led deployment would require specific regulatory approval before it could go live. The CFTC has not approved the product, and the disclosed framework does not establish a timetable for an operational launch.
The agency is also examining broader questions around crypto-related market oversight. On Oct. 5, the CFTC issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking seeking public comment on rules for certain crypto asset retail commodity transactions under its existing statutory authority. The notice also asked whether a dedicated registration category should be created for crypto asset markets.
The public comment period is scheduled to run through Dec. 14. The notice itself does not create a new regulatory regime, and any eventual changes would follow a separate rulemaking process.
That policy work forms part of the backdrop for the Hyperliquid proposal, but it should not be confused with approval of a specific U.S.-facing market. Bitnomial, NinjaTrader Clearing, Payward, and Hyperliquid would need to establish the operational and legal details for the contracts they intend to offer.
Product design will determine whether the model gains traction
Even with regulatory clearance, the rollout would depend heavily on the initial contract lineup. Perpetual futures are derivatives that track an underlying asset without an expiration date, using periodic funding payments to keep prices close to the spot market. Their popularity in crypto markets has made them a central product for active traders, but U.S. availability is shaped by rules on leverage, clearing, product eligibility, and customer protections.
Liquidity would also be a practical test. An on-chain order book can offer rapid execution, yet regulated products need sufficient market makers, trading activity, and reliable clearing processes to provide competitive spreads and orderly markets. Account onboarding and funding procedures could be equally influential for traders accustomed to direct wallet-based access.
The proposal therefore offers a narrow but potentially workable bridge between Hyperliquid’s on-chain trading system and the U.S. derivatives framework. Its outcome will depend less on the headline announcement than on CFTC decisions, the final HIP-3 implementation, and whether the participating firms can deliver approved contracts with viable liquidity and straightforward customer access.
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