Kraken’s parent plans Hyperliquid launch for regulated US perpetual futures

• Perpetual futures on Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 infrastructure will have their first CFTC-regulated deployer in Kraken parent Payward, Hyperliquid announced.
• Deployers can limit market access without surrendering independent control of their markets through optional on-chain allowlists introduced by HIP-3*.
• Using Bitnomial’s regulated exchange and clearing services, Payward had earlier set out plans to extend perpetual futures models to individual stocks.

Regulated trading on Hyperliquid (HYPE)’s HIP-3 markets is envisaged through Payward, the parent of crypto exchange Kraken, which Hyperliquid has identified as its intended first Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)-regulated deployer.

How Would Payward Bring Permissioned Markets to Hyperliquid Through HIP-3?

US customers would gain access to perpetual futures markets deployed by Payward using Hyperliquid’s infrastructure, according to an X post published by Hyperliquid on Monday. Regulatory approval is still required for the proposed arrangement.

Responsibility for creating, owning and administering the markets would rest with Bitnomial, Payward’s CFTC-regulated designated contract market (DCM) and derivatives clearing organisation (DCO). The plan also assigns contract clearing and settlement to Bitnomial.

Should approval be granted, client accounts would be carried by NinjaTrader Clearing, Payward’s CFTC-registered futures commission merchant (FCM).

By keeping market operations and regulatory obligations with the independent deployer, the announcement advances efforts to bring regulated derivatives trading to Hyperliquid’s on-chain infrastructure.

Hyperliquid wrote: “Payward will use Hyperliquid as the infrastructure layer to deploy perpetual futures markets for US clients,”

How Would Hyperliquid’s HIP-3* Permissioned Markets Work?

HIP-3*, which extends Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 framework to include optional permissioned markets, will underpin the proposed deployment. Deployers or their sub-deployers can manage on-chain allowlists to determine who may access these markets.

A future network upgrade will support the additional configuration, Hyperliquid said. For now, an initial version is available on testnet; its specifications are preliminary and may be revised in response to feedback.

Existing markets will not change because HIP-3* is an optional extension to HIP-3, the protocol stressed. Although Hyperliquid will provide the underlying infrastructure, independent deployers will continue to control their own markets and remain responsible for them.

Payward had already signalled its intention to offer on-chain perpetual futures to US clients in a statement dated 16 September, starting with Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 markets. The latest announcement follows that earlier disclosure.

In that disclosure, Payward assigned market deployment, clearing and settlement to Bitnomial, with NinjaTrader Clearing carrying customer accounts. It also described a restricted-access structure: customers would have to complete NinjaTrader’s onboarding process and be included on the allowlists of both NinjaTrader and Bitnomial.

Becoming the first registered US exchange and clearinghouse to deploy markets on Hyperliquid was the company’s intention, Payward Co-CEO Arjun Sethi said in September.

Under the proposal, Payward’s regulated exchange, clearing and brokerage infrastructure would be paired with Hyperliquid’s public blockchain and on-chain order book. Bitnomial Exchange’s rules would govern contract listings, while each relevant regulated entity would retain its own obligations.

Regulatory clearance for Payward’s deployment is still outstanding, however. With the initial HIP-3* implementation also confined to testnet, Hyperliquid has not yet confirmed when the proposed markets will launch.

At the time of writing, HYPE is priced at $77.50 after gaining nearly 3% over the past 24 hours.