President Donald Trump said his administration is working to bring decentralized exchange Hyperliquid into the United States “in a fully compliant and legal fashion,” raising questions about how a permissionless perpetual futures platform could fit into regulated U.S. markets.
The comment, made at a White House event last month, referenced CFTC Chairman Michael Selig’s efforts to facilitate Hyperliquid’s U.S. entry. Since then, Kraken’s parent company Payward has said it is working with the CFTC to offer registered U.S. users access to a selection of crypto perpetuals linked to markets on Hyperliquid and its underlying Layer 1 blockchain through Bitnomial, a CFTC-regulated platform.
The arrangement would not open Hyperliquid’s existing venue to U.S. traders. Instead, it would create a separate U.S. product built around Hyperliquid’s infrastructure, according to Nansen Research Analyst Nicolai Sondergaard. U.S. users would likely get fewer markets, lower leverage, and more conservative risk controls than users on the permissionless venue, but they would have a formal route through a regulated intermediary with KYC, sanctions screening, and customer-fund protections.
How the U.S. entry could work
The proposed structure is more nuanced than it first appears. Hyperliquid currently restricts U.S. users through its terms of service, though people in the U.S. can technically access the platform through the underlying chain. The regulated U.S. product would change that dynamic by providing a compliant option that does not require the entire global market to operate under one model.
That distinction matters for the broader crypto industry. Blanket KYC requirements would mainly remove privacy and permissionless access for legitimate users while pushing liquidity offshore, Sondergaard said. A regulated U.S. access layer is more useful because it gives users a compliant option without forcing the entire platform to change.
The Kraken-Bitnomial partnership gives Hyperliquid a regulatory head start, said Ashley Ebersole, co-founder and chief legal officer at real-world assets platform tx and a former SEC senior counsel. Partnerships of this type provide the regulatory infrastructure that would have added months or years to Hyperliquid’s U.S. roadmap if pursued on its own, he said.
Both the CFTC and SEC would need to act
Bringing Hyperliquid to the U.S. is not a one-agency job. Both the CFTC and its sister agency, the SEC, would likely need to be involved in writing revised interpretive rules involving custody and mechanics around current routing standards, Ebersole told The Block.
The Hyperliquid Policy Center has urged both agencies to adopt a harmonized framework for perpetual contracts. The CFTC has already taken steps toward bringing perpetuals into regulated U.S. markets: in May, it cleared the way for bitcoin perpetual futures contracts to be listed when it greenlit KalshiEX and Coinbase to offer the products. Coinbase has since filed a notice registration form with the SEC to begin listing equity perpetuals.
But changing rules at the SEC and CFTC is notoriously slow. Even if regulators moved quickly, revisions could take up to a year, Ebersole said. The Trump administration has “very bullish views” on ensuring U.S. leadership in financial markets, but the 2028 presidential elections could shift those priorities. If the regulatory work is not completed before a potential administration change, it becomes dependent on what the next administration’s appetite is.
Pressure on traditional markets
If Hyperliquid were to launch an operational U.S. venue, it could add pressure on traditional markets to accelerate the shift toward around-the-clock trading. U.S. markets have been built to operate largely from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, closed on holidays and weekends. But that model has increasingly come under pressure as exchanges and market operators move toward continuous trading.
Major venues such as CME already offer liquidity nearly 24 hours a day, five days a week. A regulated Hyperliquid product offering 24/7 perpetual futures would push that boundary further, potentially forcing traditional exchanges to adapt or lose market share to crypto-native platforms.
The growth of Hyperliquid and perpetuals has also raised concerns. CME CEO Terrence Duffy has repeatedly pushed back against crypto perpetuals, reportedly calling them a “disaster waiting to happen,” and sued the CFTC over the agency’s approval of perpetual futures. Legacy players want to defend their turf, and they could do so by demanding that new entrants follow existing rules, which is partly why changes to the regulatory framework would likely be needed.
The political dimension
The Trump administration’s push for platforms like Hyperliquid “has a checkered history” and can lead to financial instability, said Mark Hays, associate director for cryptocurrency and financial technology with Americans for Financial Reform and Demand Progress. The administration’s efforts to pave the way for crypto firms to get quick access to U.S. markets suggests regulators are failing to heed the lessons of the past, he said.
The political dynamics are complex. The administration wants U.S. crypto markets to be the largest and most innovative in the world. But the 24/7 nature of perpetual futures and the leverage they offer create risks that traditional market regulators are not designed to manage. Finding the balance between innovation and investor protection will define how Hyperliquid’s U.S. entry unfolds.
For now, the Kraken-Bitnomial partnership remains in the planning stages. The assets to be offered still need regulatory approval, and the broader rule changes required for a full U.S. launch have not been finalized. But the political will exists, and the infrastructure is being built. The question is whether the regulatory process can keep pace with the political ambition.
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