Intercontinental Exchange, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, has agreed to work with TradeXYZ on a plan to introduce Hyperliquid-based perpetual futures to the United States through a regulated exchange and clearing structure, subject to regulatory approvals.
ICE said it intends to operate the exchange and clearing infrastructure for perpetual contracts linked to cryptocurrencies, equities, stock indices, commodities and foreign exchange. TradeXYZ would design and implement the markets using Hyperliquid's HIP-3 technology, while participating brokers and trading platforms would distribute the products to clients.
The arrangement would place a major traditional market operator at the center of an effort to bring perpetual futures, contracts without a fixed expiry date, into the U.S. regulated derivatives system. Perpetuals have become a dominant format on offshore crypto venues, where they typically trade continuously and often permit substantial leverage, but their availability through U.S.-regulated infrastructure has been limited.
HYPE, Hyperliquid's native token, rose 15% on Thursday to around $91.21, according to market data cited in the source material. The token reached an all-time high of $97.96 last month.
ICE plans exchange and clearing role
ICE said it would build dedicated exchange and clearing capabilities for the proposed perpetual products rather than simply provide a listing venue. That structure would put ICE in charge of the market rules, trade matching and post-trade risk management required for a regulated futures market.
Clearing is central to the proposal because it stands between buyers and sellers after a trade, managing margin and settlement obligations. Perpetual futures need particularly close risk controls because their prices can move sharply and positions do not expire automatically on a monthly or quarterly schedule.
ICE is also taking a strategic stake in TradeXYZ, tying its financial interest to the company developing the market design. The announcement did not set a launch date, and the products remain dependent on regulatory approvals and broker participation.
The proposal separates three roles that are often bundled together in crypto markets. Hyperliquid's HIP-3 would supply the technical base; TradeXYZ would create the individual perpetual markets; and ICE would run the regulated exchange and clearing framework. That division could give brokers a route to offer products drawing on blockchain-native market technology without taking responsibility for operating an offshore-style derivatives venue.
CFTC guidance created a possible route
The planned launch follows guidance and no-action relief issued by Commodity Futures Trading Commission staff in May, which outlined a potential path for perpetual futures to be offered under U.S. derivatives rules.
No-action relief generally means CFTC staff do not expect to recommend enforcement action under specified conditions. It does not eliminate legal requirements or guarantee approval for a proposed market, but it can clarify how firms may structure products that previously sat outside established U.S. futures models.
President Donald Trump also referenced Hyperliquid in September while discussing the CFTC's work to accommodate the protocol within a compliant U.S. framework, according to the source material. The ICE agreement gives that policy discussion a more concrete institutional counterpart: an exchange operator with established clearing operations is proposing to build infrastructure around the product category.
The project could also test how far U.S. market regulators are willing to accommodate derivatives whose trading logic emerged in decentralized finance. Perpetuals rely on a funding mechanism, periodic payments between long and short traders, to help keep their price close to the underlying asset. A regulated version would need to combine that mechanism with established requirements around surveillance, margin, customer access and clearing-member risk.
Hyperliquid's HIP-3 markets have expanded beyond crypto
TradeXYZ has already expanded activity on Hyperliquid through builder-deployed perpetual markets tied to stocks, indices and commodities. Under Hyperliquid's HIP-3 framework, builders can deploy markets and define parameters for trading products, extending the network beyond crypto-only perpetuals.
Open interest in HIP-3 markets reached $2.38 billion in April, according to the source material. Open interest measures the value of outstanding derivative positions and is often used to gauge whether a market has developed meaningful depth. It does not measure actual customer balances or indicate whether positions are profitable, but a multibillion-dollar figure suggests the products have attracted sustained speculative activity.
The proposed ICE structure would seek to translate that demand into a market accessible through registered brokers rather than directly through offshore or decentralized interfaces. Whether it succeeds will depend on the final product design, margin requirements, liquidity providers, broker support and regulatory permissions.
A U.S. regulated perpetual market could appeal to traders who want around-the-clock exposure to crypto, equities, commodities or currencies without repeatedly rolling expiring futures contracts. Those conveniences also bring familiar derivatives risks: leverage can amplify losses, and rapid price moves can trigger margin calls or forced position closures.
For Hyperliquid, the partnership places its HIP-3 technology alongside one of the best-known names in global exchange infrastructure. For ICE, it offers an entry point into a fast-growing derivatives format while retaining the exchange and clearing controls that distinguish regulated futures markets from the offshore venues where perpetuals gained traction.
Want to understand perpetual futures before ICE’s launch? Start with our guide What are perpetuals and how do they work.
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