Kraken parent to run first CFTC-regulated Hyperliquid perps

Hyperliquid said on Monday that Payward, the parent company of Kraken, is set to become the first CFTC-regulated firm to deploy markets on its HIP-3 framework, a step towards onchain perpetual futures for US customers, The Block reported. The plan still needs approval from regulators.

Who does what

HIP-3 lets independent builders launch their own perpetual futures markets on Hyperliquid's order book. Under the plan Payward first outlined on Sept. 16, the roles are split between its regulated subsidiaries:

• Bitnomial, Payward's CFTC-regulated exchange (designated contract market) and clearinghouse, would create, own and run the markets, and clear and settle the contracts under Bitnomial Exchange rules.
• NinjaTrader Clearing, a CFTC-registered futures commission merchant and NFA member, would carry client accounts.
• Only customers onboarded by NinjaTrader and listed on both NinjaTrader's and Bitnomial's allowlists could trade.
• Hyperliquid's public blockchain would match and record the trades.

"Hyperliquid is a neutral infrastructure layer with the goal of supporting large parts of the financial system," the protocol said in its post on X, adding that deployers keep control of, and responsibility for, their own markets.

What HIP-3* changes

The enabling feature is an optional extension called HIP-3*. A deployer that switches it on keeps an onchain allowlist of wallets that may trade its market and can delegate admin powers to sub-deployers. According to Hyperliquid's developer documentation, those powers include approving or removing wallets, cancelling resting orders, placing reduce-only orders and moving collateral, all limited to that one venue.

Existing HIP-3 markets are unaffected. The functionality is live only on testnet, its specification is still preliminary, and mainnet support will need a future network upgrade. The Block noted it is still unclear how know-your-customer checks would work in practice.

Why it matters

Perpetual futures — contracts with no expiry date — are the most traded product in crypto, but US customers have largely been shut out of offshore venues. If approved, Payward's set-up would let a regulated US firm use a decentralized exchange as its matching engine while keeping the compliance duties in-house. It also adds to Payward's push into regulated US products after its purchase of Saldo Bank.

New to the product? Our explainer on what perpetual futures are covers funding rates and leverage, and our guide to centralized vs decentralized exchanges shows where a hybrid like this fits.