Hyperliquid Discusses US Perpetual Futures via Payward

Hyperliquid (HYPE) is discussing plans to provide perpetual futures products to U.S. users via Payward, the parent company of Kraken. While the proposal involves limited product offerings through a regulated exchange, final approval and launch dates remain undetermined.

Hyperliquid Labs is reportedly engaging with Payward on market entry strategies for the U.S. market. Bloomberg reported that Payward, which owns Bitnomial—a U.S. derivatives exchange—may offer certain perpetual futures products linked to Hyperliquid's blockchain to registered users under U.S. regulatory frameworks.

Neither Payward nor Hyperliquid Labs has issued an official statement regarding the report. Whether this discussion leads to actual product launches depends on listing procedures and regulatory classification decisions by authorities. The proposed structure differs from directly opening Hyperliquid's existing decentralized exchange in the U.S., instead involving trading of derivatives that track Hyperliquid-related prices through Bitnomial, a regulated exchange.

Bitnomial submitted 'Hyperliquid US Dollar Spot Contract' to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on April 22 via self-certification, and it now appears as 'Certified' in CFTC's product list. This record reflects certification for a product based on HYPE spot price but does not indicate that Hyperliquid has directly launched perpetual futures services in the U.S. or received final approval.

On May 18, another product titled 'HYPE Perp Style Futures' was also listed as 'Certified' in CFTC's product list. While the name reflects perpetual futures structure, it is not a product directly offered by Hyperliquid's exchange but rather a derivative listed separately by the regulated exchange.

Payward announced plans to acquire Bitnomial in April for up to $550 million (approximately 74 billion KRW), aiming to secure an infrastructure chain including exchanges, clearinghouses, and brokerage services. Payward also stated its intention to expand spot, margin, perpetual futures, and options services for U.S. customers through this acquisition.

Bitnomial was mentioned as a potential foundation for trading Hyperliquid-related products under the U.S. regulatory framework. Kraken began offering CFTC-regulated perpetual futures for eligible U.S. clients in June, with products covering major cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and Ripple (XRP) listed on Bitnomial.

Perpetual futures are derivatives without maturity dates that allow positions to be held indefinitely, differing from standard futures by lacking expiration dates. They typically adjust price differences between the contract and underlying asset through funding fees.

The recent report about Hyperliquid's potential entry into the U.S. perpetual futures market via Payward has been accompanied by CFTC certification records and Bitnomial's role in structuring the offering. Regulatory discussions continue, with Hyperliquid Policy Center advocating for a unified regulatory framework from SEC and CFTC to classify perpetual contracts based on economic structure rather than underlying assets.