Hyperliquid Labs in advanced talks with Payward for regulated U.S. perpetual futures access via Bitnomial
Talks coincide with White House and CFTC signals on bringing Hyperliquid onshore, as Bitnomial would list selected linked perpetuals for U.S. traders pending clearance.
Bloomberg directly supports the central claim: advanced talks between Hyperliquid Labs and Payward, a possible structure using Bitnomial for selected perpetual futures, and the requirement for regulatory approval. The CFTC's "CFTC Designates Bitnomial Exchange, LLC as a Contract Market" confirms the relevant regulatory status of Bitnomial. However, Bloomberg also reports that Payward and Hyperliquid declined comment, and no official company or regulator announcement in the gathered evidence confirms a final agreement, CFTC filing, approval, or launch. The claim is therefore credible as a report of discussions, but not established as a completed U.S. offering.
Hyperliquid Labs, the Singapore-based decentralized exchange, and Payward, parent of Kraken, are in advanced negotiations to give eligible U.S. traders regulated access to a selected subset of Hyperliquid-linked crypto perpetual futures through Bitnomial, the CFTC-regulated Chicago derivatives exchange and clearinghouse Payward acquired in May for up to $550 million. Under the structure, Americans would trade on Bitnomial rather than Hyperliquid’s permissionless platform, with Bitnomial handling KYC, AML, and surveillance while products remain linked to Hyperliquid’s markets and underlying layer-1 blockchain. Payward has outlined the plan to the CFTC; financial terms, specific contracts, and a launch date have not been disclosed, and both firms declined to comment after Bloomberg reported the talks on Aug. 31. Hyperliquid processes more than $4 billion in daily volume and handled roughly $3 trillion in notional trading in 2025, yet has locked out U.S. users amid concerns over market manipulation, money laundering, and sanctions. The discussions follow August remarks by President Donald Trump that his administration was working to bring Hyperliquid onshore in a fully compliant and legal fashion, comments that lifted HYPE, while a CFTC spokesperson said that under Chairman Selig’s leadership the agency is committed to fair access and responsible innovation so next-generation markets are built in America. Former SEC counsel Ashley Ebersole estimated any needed SEC and CFTC reinterpretations on custody and trade routing could take 10 to 12 months, framing the Bitnomial route as a medium-term path and a possible template for other offshore venues. HYPE was trading at $84.25, up 1.3% over 24 hours, after a recent record just above $86 and a gain of more than 85% over the past year.
- Bitnomial: Payward’s CFTC-regulated Chicago derivatives exchange and clearinghouse proposed as the U.S. venue for selected Hyperliquid-linked perpetual futures.
- Perpetual futures: Derivatives with no expiration date that use recurring funding payments to keep contract prices aligned with a reference asset.
- Layer-1 blockchain: A base settlement network on which applications and markets such as Hyperliquid’s exchange run directly.