Highlights
- Hyperliquid Labs is in talks with Kraken parent company Payward to bring its perpetual futures products to US traders.
- The arrangement would route through Payward's CFTC-licensed Bitnomial exchange, the same entity behind Kraken's regulatory bridge into US derivatives.
- HYPE, Hyperliquid's native token, has surged past $83 with market cap swelling to between $17 billion and $21 billion on the news.
- Four independent sources, including a Bloomberg report and PANews, corroborate that talks are underway.
Hyperliquid Labs, operator of the largest on-chain perpetual futures exchange, is in discussions with Kraken's parent company Payward about entering the United States market, according to a report from Whale Insider on August 31, 2026. Crypto Banter, citing Bloomberg, said the discussions center on bringing Hyperliquid's on-chain perpetual futures to US participants through Payward's infrastructure, while Watcher.Guru and PANews, which flagged the story as significant, both confirmed the same development within minutes of each other.
The proposed structure would let US-based traders access perpetual futures tied to tokens built on Hyperliquid's blockchain through Payward's Bitnomial exchange, a Commodity Futures Trading Commission-licensed venue that Kraken acquired specifically to bridge on-chain derivatives into US-regulated markets. If finalized, it would mark the first sanctioned US entry for Singapore-based Hyperliquid Labs, which currently operates offshore and restricts American access to comply with derivatives law.
What's Driving the Talks
The discussions follow remarks from President Trump on August 19-20 that the CFTC was taking steps to onboard Hyperliquid in a compliant manner, comments that sent HYPE up 19-20% in a single trading session. Since then, HYPE has continued climbing, surging past $83 with a weekly gain exceeding 35% as speculation about a formal US pathway intensified. Payward has reportedly presented the CFTC with a proposal outlining the basic structure of the arrangement, treating its CFTC-licensed Bitnomial subsidiary as the compliance bridge between Hyperliquid's on-chain architecture and US derivatives rules.
Related: JPMorgan Chase Builds Out Retail Digital Assets Team for 80M Users
Why It Matters for On-Chain Derivatives
On-chain perpetual futures platforms collectively handle billions of dollars in daily global trading volume, but virtually none of it currently comes from US participants, since domestic derivatives law has kept platforms like Hyperliquid, dYdX and GMX offshore. A regulated pathway through Bitnomial would open that volume to the largest and most liquid derivatives market in the world, positioning Hyperliquid to compete directly with established US futures venues rather than watching that flow route through offshore exchanges. It would also validate the HIP-3 framework Hyperliquid uses to let third parties launch permissioned markets on its infrastructure, a mechanism built with exactly this kind of compliant-access use case in mind.
What Comes Next
Nothing has been finalized, and any structure would still need CFTC sign-off before US traders could access Hyperliquid-linked perpetual futures through Bitnomial. Traders should watch for a formal CFTC filing or announcement, along with any follow-up statement from Hyperliquid Labs or Payward confirming deal terms. Continued strength or reversal in HYPE's price over the coming days will likely track how credible the market judges the talks to be.
FAQ
What is Payward's role in this deal?
Payward is Kraken's parent company; it owns Bitnomial, a CFTC-licensed derivatives exchange that could serve as the compliant on-ramp for Hyperliquid's products in the US.
Why can't Hyperliquid operate in the US already?
Hyperliquid runs its perpetual futures offshore because US derivatives law requires CFTC registration, a status Hyperliquid itself does not hold, unlike Bitnomial.
How has HYPE reacted to the news?
HYPE has surged past $83, pushing its market capitalization to between $17 billion and $21 billion, a weekly gain of more than 35%.
Is the deal confirmed?
No. Talks are reportedly underway and corroborated by multiple sources, but no final agreement or regulatory approval has been announced.
