OKX, the international cryptocurrency exchange, announced on Friday that it is expanding access to crypto-native derivatives modeled on Intercontinental Exchange’s (ICE) energy benchmarks for traders outside the United States. This move highlights Wall Street’s efforts to compete with the rapid growth of Hyperliquid.
Global Expansion
OKX, along with the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, is targeting traders in the United Arab Emirates, Europe, Australia, and Singapore. The exchange is positioning this as “a major step forward in expanding regulated access to global commodity markets through digital asset infrastructure.”
Derivatives Tied to Oil Futures
The derivatives offered by OKX, known as perpetual futures, will be linked to ICE’s pricing for Brent and WTI oil futures. This will allow traders to speculate around the clock on a market that has gained increased attention due to the conflict in the Middle East and its impact on the Strait of Hormuz.
“Oil markets are critical to the world economy,” said Haider Rafique, OKX Global Managing Partner, in a statement. “Bringing them into regulated perpetual futures is exactly the kind of bridge between traditional and digital markets that market participants have been asking for.”
Regulatory Scrutiny
This offering comes as the Justice Department and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) are reportedly investigating billions of dollars’ worth of suspicious oil bets that occurred before major announcements by President Donald Trump and a top Iranian official regarding the war in Iran, according to ABC News.
Earlier this week, Hyperliquid’s policy arm responded to market integrity concerns that ICE and CME Group had brought to the attention of regulators, as reported by Bloomberg. These concerns reportedly stem from the unregulated nature of the decentralized exchange’s platform, which does not require customers to complete know-your-customer (KYC) procedures.
Market Landscape
Hyperliquid, which launched in 2023, has become the leading platform for offering open access to perpetual futures. Unlike traditional futures, perpetual futures do not expire and can be held open indefinitely, with periodic payments between traders.
While Hyperliquid’s platform currently has $9.6 billion in outstanding trades, Binance dominates the crypto derivatives market with $26 billion in notional open interest, according to CoinGecko. OKX’s open interest stood at $8.2 billion on Friday.
Hyperliquid’s native token recently traded around $60.18, a 39% increase over the past seven days, nearing its all-time high from the previous day.
