Hyperliquid in Talks with Kraken Parent for US Crypto Derivatives

Hyperliquid Eyes U.

S. Market Entry Via Kraken Parent Company

Singapore-based cryptocurrency derivatives platform Hyperliquid is reportedly in advanced discussions to offer its perpetual futures contracts to American traders through Payward, the parent company of U.S. exchange Kraken. The move, detailed in a Bloomberg report citing individuals familiar with the matter, would involve routing U.S. customers to a select offering of Hyperliquid’s crypto-linked perpetual futures via Bitnomial, Payward’s U.S.-regulated digital asset exchange and clearinghouse.

Representatives for both Payward and Hyperliquid Labs declined to comment on the report.

This potential partnership would signify Hyperliquid Labs’ first foray into the U.S. market, a region where its rapidly expanding platform has thus far been inaccessible to customers. It could also establish a blueprint for other offshore, unregistered trading venues seeking to establish a presence within the United States.

Any such agreement would necessitate regulatory approval. Bloomberg reported that Payward has already submitted a proposal to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) outlining the fundamental structure of the arrangement, though financial terms remain undisclosed.

The proposed structure aims to overcome a significant hurdle that has prevented Hyperliquid from operating in the U.S. As a decentralized platform with daily trading volumes exceeding $4 billion, Hyperliquid lacks a central operator. Its permissionless design allows anyone to trade, a characteristic that regulators have expressed concerns about due to potential exposure to market manipulation, money laundering, and sanctions evasion. By channeling access through Bitnomial’s regulated infrastructure, the arrangement would introduce the operator and oversight mandated by regulatory frameworks.

This development follows recent remarks by former President Donald Trump, who indicated earlier this month that his administration was working to bring such platforms onshore. Trump’s comments at a White House event, suggesting that CFTC Chairman Michael Selig was exploring a pathway for Hyperliquid, had previously caused a sharp increase in the platform’s HYPE token.

The ongoing discussions also occur amidst intensified efforts by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the CFTC to implement rules that could potentially shift offshore perpetual futures trading, a market considerably larger than its U.S. counterpart, back to domestic platforms.