$78.4 support in focus for HYPE: Hyperliquid Price Forecast as CFTC approves US equity perpetuals

• Individual stock perpetuals gained CFTC approval as security futures, bringing the contracts under joint SEC and CFTC supervision.
• A lawsuit contesting the CFTC's approval of single-stock perpetuals was joined by Cboe, Citadel Securities and the Healthy Markets Association.
• At the convergence of $78.42 and the 100-day EMA, HYPE could find support.

$81.73 is the current trading price of Hyperliquid (HYPE). US regulators have opened a further route for perpetual futures, permitting contracts linked to individual stocks on eligible domestic exchanges.

US equity perpetual futures gain CFTC clearance

On Tuesday, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that registered contract markets also recognised by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may begin trading perpetual futures linked to individual equity securities.

Under the existing regulatory framework, equity perpetuals have been deemed approved as security futures products, according to CFTC Chairman Michael Selig. This classification subjects the contracts to joint supervision by the CFTC and SEC.

Chairman Selig commented: “The Equity Perps demonstrate the strength of the ongoing commitments of the CFTC and SEC to support lawful innovation, uphold market integrity, and ensure investor and customer protection through the harmonization of the CFTC’s and SEC’s regulatory frameworks,”

Following the earlier approval of Bitcoin perpetual futures on a CFTC-regulated exchange, the decision extends the agency’s drive to bring perpetual derivatives onshore, Selig added.

He said: “I believe that bringing these types of innovative products into our regulated markets ensures that American investors and traders can access these products within the protections of the CFTC’s proven regulatory framework, rather than being forced to turn to offshore, and often unregulated, venues,”

Industry participants had spent months pressing for clearer perpetual-market rules before the approval. The Senate’s CLARITY Act failed to progress in a procedural vote on 15 September, leaving regulators to advance elements of the market-structure agenda through agency action.

CFTC approval faces legal challenge backed by Cboe

Legal opposition to the approval has already emerged. The Capital Markets Alliance brought a lawsuit on Tuesday in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York to overturn the CFTC’s approval of single-stock perpetual derivatives. Cboe Global Markets became a party to the case together with Citadel Securities and the Healthy Markets Association.

In the alliance’s view, the contracts qualify as security-based swaps under SEC jurisdiction. It argues that the CFTC acted beyond its authority and breached the Administrative Procedure Act.

Investor protections could be weakened and regulatory arbitrage created by permitting securities-linked products outside the existing framework, Cboe said.

In parallel, Hyperliquid has kept exploring regulated routes into the US for its perpetual markets. An agreement announced last week by ICE and Trade[XYZ] would establish a dedicated US market and clearing structure built on Hyperliquid.

Exclusive operation of the regulated markets will rest with ICE, which also intends to make a strategic investment in Trade[XYZ]. Subject to regulatory approvals, the proposed venue would give retail investors access to perpetual contracts linked to equities, commodities, currencies and crypto.

$78.4 and 100-day EMA in focus: Hyperliquid technical outlook for HYPE

At $81.73 on the daily chart, HYPE retains a bearish short-term bias. The 50- and 20-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs), at $82.64 and $83.40 respectively, continue to cap the price. Underlying trend support comes from the 100-day EMA at $78.08, above which HYPE still trades. However, closely stacked overhead resistance leaves rallies vulnerable. A Relative Strength Index (RSI) reading of 47.27 signals mild weakness. Meanwhile, the Stochastic near 34 points to waning upward momentum following the recent rebound.

The 50- and 20-day EMAs present the first upside hurdles, followed by firmer horizontal resistance near $85.04. Further gains are likely to meet a cap around $87.68, the break area of the descending trend line, before reaching the higher horizontal level at $97.84. Immediate downside support lies where the 100-day EMA converges with $78.42, followed by the horizontal floor at $75.69. Should the pullback deepen, the next support levels would be $67.63 and $61.16.

(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool. Know more.)