Payward intends to be the first CFTC-regulated deployer of permissioned perpetual markets on Hyperliquid, through its Bitnomial exchange and NinjaTrader Clearing. It needs regulatory approval and a network upgrade first.
The plan would put a U.S.-regulated exchange, clearinghouse and broker on top of an order book that runs on a public blockchain.
Hyperliquid said on Monday that Payward, the parent of crypto exchange Kraken, intends to be the first CFTC-regulated deployer of perpetual futures markets on HIP-3\*, Hyperliquid's name for a permissioned version of its HIP-3 framework, which lets outside parties create and run their own markets. The asterisk is part of the name.
Subject to regulatory approval, Payward's Bitnomial, a CFTC-registered exchange and clearinghouse, would create, own and administer the markets, and would clear and settle the contracts. NinjaTrader Clearing, Payward's futures commission merchant, would carry client accounts. Only accounts on an approved list would be able to trade.
What still has to happen
Two things, neither of them scheduled. Regulators have to approve the arrangement, and Hyperliquid has to ship the network upgrade that adds the permissioning features, which are being tested. No launch date has been given, and the companies have not said which contracts would be listed.
Payward first outlined the plan on Sept. 16. At the time, it said no registered U.S. exchange or clearinghouse had deployed a market on Hyperliquid. Monday's statement from Hyperliquid confirms the structure and names the framework it would run on.
Why it matters
Perpetual futures are contracts with no expiry date. Payward's structure would split the job of offering them in two. The regulated functions, including membership, clearing, settlement and customer accounts, would sit with U.S.-registered entities. The order matching would happen on Hyperliquid's chain. If regulators accept that division, it would be a template for bringing onchain derivatives trading into the U.S. system without moving the market itself onshore.
Payward already offers CFTC-regulated perpetual futures to U.S. clients through Bitnomial. The new step would be running them on Hyperliquid's public order book, alongside established U.S. derivatives exchanges such as CME and Coinbase's derivatives business.
What the market did
Hyperliquid's HYPE token fell about 2.2% between Monday afternoon and early Tuesday, to about $77.74. Because Payward had already described the plan in September, the statement may have carried little new information for traders, and no link between the announcement and the price can be drawn.
Two readings
One reading is that this is a significant step toward convergence. A CFTC-registered exchange and clearinghouse is prepared to clear trades matched on a public blockchain, and Hyperliquid is building permissioning to accommodate it.
The other is that it is an intention, not a market. The structure depends on an approval no one has granted and an upgrade not yet live, and it restates a plan first announced six weeks ago. Until regulators respond, it is a proposal.
What to watch
Any CFTC filing or approval, the timing of Hyperliquid's network upgrade, the first contracts Bitnomial proposes to list, and how U.S. derivatives venues respond.