Hyperliquid Labs is exploring a route to offer crypto perpetual futures to U.S. users through Payward and its proposed acquisition target Bitnomial, according to Bloomberg, a plan that would place access to products linked to Hyperliquid’s decentralized exchange within a regulated U.S. derivatives structure.
Payward has presented an outline of the arrangement to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Bloomberg reported. Regulatory approval remains pending, and the eventual launch timetable would depend on how the CFTC and potentially the Securities and Exchange Commission treat custody, routing and market-access questions surrounding the proposed model.
Under the structure described by Bloomberg, Bitnomial would make a selected range of crypto perpetual futures available to registered U.S. users. Those contracts would be linked to markets on Hyperliquid’s decentralized exchange and its Layer 1 blockchain, while being offered through Bitnomial’s U.S.-regulated operations.
That structure would connect one of crypto’s most active onchain derivatives venues with a domestic entity built to operate an exchange, clearinghouse and brokerage business under CFTC oversight. Rather than asking U.S. customers to interact directly with an offshore-style decentralized venue, the proposal would use Bitnomial as the regulated access point.
Bitnomial acquisition provides the regulated infrastructure
Payward agreed earlier this year to acquire Bitnomial for as much as $550 million, according to the supplied materials. The deal would give Payward control over a CFTC-licensed derivatives stack that includes exchange, clearing and brokerage functions.
Those capabilities are central to the Hyperliquid proposal. Perpetual futures are derivatives contracts with no fixed expiry date, allowing traders to maintain long or short exposure through a mechanism that periodically transfers payments between positions to keep the contract close to its reference market price.
The products have long been widely available on international crypto platforms, but their availability to U.S. users has been constrained by questions over registration, product design, customer safeguards and the division of responsibility between federal agencies. A Bitnomial-led model could test whether perpetuals tied to decentralized market infrastructure can be offered through a conventional U.S. regulated intermediary.
The arrangement would also make the source of pricing and liquidity a central regulatory issue. Hyperliquid’s markets and blockchain would provide the underlying venue connection, while Bitnomial would sit between those markets and U.S. customers. Regulators may scrutinize how prices are referenced, how orders are routed, and how customer assets and positions are managed through that chain.
Regulatory work could extend beyond the CFTC
Ashley Ebersole, a former senior counsel at the SEC, told Bloomberg that a U.S. launch could require action from both the SEC and the CFTC. She said agencies may need to revise or clarify interpretive rules affecting custody and routing standards before the proposed model can move forward.
Ebersole estimated that the process could take at least 10 to 12 months even under a relatively fast-moving regulatory timeline. That estimate points to a path shaped less by the technical ability to list a contract than by the rules governing how a regulated U.S. firm connects customers to decentralized trading infrastructure.
The issue has become more visible as agencies and market participants seek clearer rules for perpetual contracts. Last week, the Hyperliquid Policy Center urged the SEC and CFTC to align their treatment of the products, according to the supplied article. Coordinated guidance would reduce the risk that a contract acceptable under one agency’s approach encounters obstacles under another’s interpretation of securities, commodities or intermediary rules.
The CFTC has already taken steps that could inform the discussion. In May, the agency allowed KalshiEX and Coinbase to list crypto perpetual futures, according to the supplied materials. In June, it sought public comment on crude oil perpetual contracts and round-the-clock trading, extending the debate beyond crypto into the design of perpetual products more broadly.
Those developments do not guarantee approval for the Hyperliquid-Bitnomial proposal. They do show that perpetual contracts are receiving more direct attention from U.S. derivatives regulators, including questions around continuous trading, price formation and risk controls.
Hyperliquid seeks a domestic route
President Donald Trump mentioned Hyperliquid earlier this month during a press conference with technology leaders and federal agency chairs, saying CFTC Chair Michael Selig was working on bringing the platform into the United States in a compliant and legal format, according to the supplied article.
The CFTC has also publicly emphasized the goal of keeping next-generation trading activity within the United States rather than pushing it offshore. That policy direction could favor structures that bring trading, clearing and customer protections under domestic supervision, though any individual proposal remains subject to agency review.
Hyperliquid’s decentralized exchange and Layer 1 network currently handle more than $4 billion in daily trading volume globally, according to the supplied materials. A U.S. product linked to those markets would therefore raise practical questions over whether domestic access can be introduced without fragmenting liquidity or creating material differences between U.S. contracts and the broader onchain market.
Hyperliquid’s HYPE token traded at $84.25, up 1.3% over the preceding 24 hours at the time cited in the supplied article. The token had reached an all-time high above $86 the previous week and was up more than 85% over the prior year. Its market value stood at $18.3 billion, with roughly $3.5 billion in open futures positions, according to the supplied figures.
The token’s market performance does not determine whether the proposed U.S. product will receive approval. The more consequential development is whether Payward can use Bitnomial’s regulated derivatives infrastructure to create an acceptable framework for contracts tied to Hyperliquid’s decentralized markets. A successful model would give U.S. regulators a concrete case for deciding how onchain perpetual trading can fit within the country’s futures rules.
Interested in regulated perpetual futures? Explore Toobit’s detailed guide on what perpetuals are and how they work today.
Disclaimer: The content on this page is provided for general informational purposes only and does not represent the views or financial advice of Toobit. We make no guarantees regarding the accuracy or completeness of this information and shall not be held liable for any errors, omissions, or outcomes resulting from its use. Investing in digital assets involves risk; users should independently evaluate their financial situation and the risks involved. For further details, please consult our Terms of Service and Risk Disclosure.
