Hyperliquid is seeking a regulatory path that could bring its perpetual futures infrastructure to U.S. traders, as recent Commodity Futures Trading Commission decisions begin dismantling one of the biggest barriers separating America’s derivatives market from the offshore crypto industry. The effort would not necessarily mean Hyperliquid itself registering as a conventional U.S. exchange. Instead, the company is exploring how regulated American intermediaries could potentially provide customers access to perpetual contracts running on Hyperliquid’s blockchain, according to reporting on its regulatory push.
That would represent a major change for Hyperliquid, whose core perpetual futures markets have historically been unavailable to U.S. users. The opportunity has emerged because the CFTC is becoming substantially more receptive to perpetual futures—derivatives that resemble traditional futures but have no expiration date and instead use recurring funding payments to keep their prices close to underlying markets.
CFTC Opens the Door to U.S. Perpetuals
The regulatory landscape changed materially on May 29, when the CFTC approved KalshiEX’s Bitcoin perpetual futures contract. On the same day, CFTC staff confirmed that certain crypto perpetual contracts offered by foreign exchanges can qualify as foreign futures under existing regulations. The agency also provided no-action relief allowing Coinbase Financial Markets to transfer customer crypto assets to an affiliated foreign broker for use as margin under specified conditions. Kraken subsequently launched regulated perpetual futures for eligible U.S. customers in June. Those decisions create a potential blueprint for Hyperliquid.
The protocol already operates one of the world’s largest onchain perpetual markets. If U.S.-regulated firms could legally route customer access to contracts settled through Hyperliquid, the blockchain could potentially provide underlying trading infrastructure without reproducing every function of a traditional centralized exchange. Hyperliquid has been preparing for this regulatory debate for more than a year. In May 2025, Hyperliquid Labs submitted a formal response to the CFTC’s request for comments on perpetual derivatives. It argued that blockchain-based perpetual markets can provide transparent execution, continuous trading and publicly verifiable market information. It separately responded to the CFTC’s consultation on 24/7 derivatives trading, another defining feature of crypto markets.
U.S. Access Would Be Transformational for Hyperliquid
A successful regulatory pathway could significantly expand Hyperliquid’s addressable market. Perpetual futures dominate global crypto derivatives trading because they combine leverage, continuous trading and no contract expiration. But much of that activity developed outside the United States because American derivatives regulations historically made the products difficult to offer domestically. That competitive barrier is now weakening. The challenge for Hyperliquid is that its architecture differs fundamentally from regulated U.S. exchanges. Trading occurs onchain, users interact through wallets, and the protocol was designed around permissionless infrastructure rather than conventional brokerage relationships.
U.S. access would likely require regulated intermediaries to handle functions such as customer identification, sanctions screening, custody, margin requirements and other compliance obligations. There are also political obstacles. Major traditional exchanges have reportedly raised concerns with U.S. policymakers about decentralized perpetual platforms, including questions surrounding market manipulation and sanctions compliance. Hyperliquid’s regulatory strategy therefore appears to be less about turning the protocol into another CME and more about determining whether regulated institutions can sit between American customers and decentralized market infrastructure. The timing could be favorable even if Congress fails to pass comprehensive crypto legislation. The CFTC has indicated that it intends to continue advancing digital-asset regulation using its existing authority rather than waiting indefinitely for the CLARITY Act. For Hyperliquid, that makes the recent perpetual-futures decisions particularly consequential.
A year ago, U.S.-regulated crypto perpetuals remained largely theoretical. Kalshi has now received CFTC approval, Coinbase has obtained a regulatory pathway involving foreign perpetuals, and Kraken has launched the products for U.S. customers. Hyperliquid now wants to determine whether its onchain markets can be next. If regulators agree, the result could be bigger than U.S. access for one decentralized exchange. It would establish a pathway through which regulated American financial institutions could connect customers directly to blockchain-native derivatives infrastructure—bringing one of crypto’s largest offshore markets into the U.S. regulatory perimeter.
