Hyperliquid is looking for a path into the US perpetual futures market, according to a report from The Information, as the exchange's policy arm presses federal regulators for a framework that could bring onchain derivatives under a regulated domestic structure. The platform currently blocks access for US users entirely, alongside Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria and Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine.
Rather than waiting for the CLARITY Act's stalled path through the Senate to resolve broader crypto market-structure rules, Hyperliquid is pursuing a narrower route through the CFTC's existing regulatory authority. Hyperliquid Policy Center CEO Jake Chervinsky has said the goal is for regulators to either interpret current rules favorably or issue new guidance that would let registered firms build regulated perpetual-futures markets on top of Hyperliquid's infrastructure.
Asking the CFTC to formalize a wallet precedent
In July, the Hyperliquid Policy Center and wallet provider Phantom jointly asked the CFTC to clarify that developers who simply publish onchain protocol software shouldn't automatically trigger registration requirements as an exchange, clearinghouse, broker or swap dealer. The filing pointed specifically to CFTC Letter No. 26-09, a no-action position the agency issued in March establishing that Phantom's non-custodial wallet software could connect users to registered derivatives markets without registering as an introducing broker. Hyperliquid and Phantom want that one-off no-action relief turned into durable guidance rather than a position the CFTC could quietly withdraw.
A regulatory workaround while legislation stalls
The strategy reflects a broader pattern among DeFi-native platforms this year: rather than waiting on Congress to pass comprehensive market-structure legislation, firms are pushing individual agencies to issue interpretive guidance that achieves similar practical effect. Hyperliquid has already found ways to bring regulated-market exposure to non-US users — traders outside the US can access perpetual futures tracking the S&P 500 under a licensing deal with S&P Dow Jones Indices — but reaching US users directly still requires the kind of registration clarity the CFTC filing is seeking.
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Whether the CFTC grants the requested clarity remains an open question, and even a favorable interpretation wouldn't automatically make Hyperliquid itself available to US traders — it would more likely open a path for registered US firms to build regulated products using Hyperliquid's underlying infrastructure, similar to how the S&P 500 perpetual futures product now operates for international users.
