By Kraken parent Payward plans to offer eligible U.S. clients access to new perpetual futures markets built on Hyperliquid’s blockchain, combining onchain execution with a regulated U.S. derivatives structure.
The company said on September 16 that it intends to begin with Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 framework, which allows third parties to deploy and administer their own perpetual futures markets. The proposed contracts would be created by Payward entities rather than simply exposing U.S. traders to Hyperliquid’s existing permissionless markets. The launch remains subject to regulatory approval, and Payward has not disclosed a start date, fee structure, expected trading volumes or the specific assets that will underpin the first contracts. A spokesperson also declined to provide details of discussions with regulators.
Bitnomial Would Provide the Regulated U.S. Infrastructure
Under the proposed structure, Bitnomial Exchange and Bitnomial Clearinghouse would act as the HIP-3 deployer, creating, administering, clearing and settling the new contracts. NinjaTrader Clearing would carry customer accounts as the registered futures commission merchant. Eligible clients would therefore need futures accounts approved through the relevant Payward entities rather than connecting directly to Hyperliquid in the same way as users of its existing decentralised exchange.
Payward acquired Bitnomial in May after agreeing to pay up to $550 million for the derivatives company. Bitnomial holds the CFTC licenses needed to operate an exchange, clearinghouse and futures commission infrastructure for U.S. digital asset derivatives. That acquisition has already allowed Kraken to launch CFTC-regulated perpetual futures for eligible U.S. traders covering assets including Bitcoin, Ether, Solana and XRP. Those products trade through Bitnomial’s regulated infrastructure rather than offshore derivatives venues. The proposed Hyperliquid integration would go a step further by placing new regulated markets directly on a public blockchain while keeping customer onboarding, clearing and compliance inside the U.S. regulatory perimeter.
Hyperliquid Could Gain a Regulated U.S. Gateway
Hyperliquid has become one of the largest venues for crypto perpetual futures, but its existing markets are not directly available to U.S. customers through the proposed arrangement. Payward’s plan would instead use HIP-3 to create separate permissioned markets. Hyperliquid’s public order book would provide the underlying trading infrastructure, while regulated Payward entities would control market deployment, client eligibility and settlement.
That distinction matters because perpetual futures have historically been concentrated on offshore or decentralised platforms. Unlike conventional futures, perpetual contracts have no expiry date and use recurring funding payments to keep their prices aligned with underlying spot markets. Payward’s strategy reflects a broader push to bring those products into regulated U.S. venues. Kraken launched its first CFTC-regulated U.S. perpetual futures in June, while Payward has been expanding its derivatives business through Bitnomial and NinjaTrader.
For Hyperliquid, the proposal could introduce a new source of regulated U.S.-linked trading activity without changing access rules for its existing DEX markets. Payward has not disclosed whether Hyperliquid or HYPE token holders would receive any direct share of fees or economic benefits from the arrangement. If regulators approve the structure, it would represent an unusual bridge between decentralised trading infrastructure and the CFTC-regulated U.S. futures system — potentially allowing Payward to offer blockchain-native perpetual markets while preserving the compliance controls required for American customers.