Kraken Parent Payward Set to Bring Regulated Perpetual Futures to Hyperliquid

Hyperliquid (CRYPTO: $HYPE) said Monday it intends to make Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, the first deployer on its HIP-3 markets regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a step toward regulated U.S. perpetual futures trading on the decentralized protocol.

The plan depends on a HIP-3 upgrade that would let deployers restrict access to their markets through onchain allowlists. That could allow regulated operators to build on Hyperliquid’s infrastructure while meeting applicable requirements. It remains unclear how the permissioning would work in practice, including whether a market deployed by Payward would include built-in know-your-customer checks.

The functionality is live on testnet, and Payward’s planned deployment is subject to regulatory approval.

Bitnomial, Payward’s CFTC-regulated designated contract market and derivatives clearing organization, would act as the deployer, Hyperliquid said in a post on X. If approved, NinjaTrader Clearing, Payward’s CFTC-registered futures commission merchant, would carry client accounts.

Hyperliquid described itself as a neutral infrastructure layer meant to support large parts of the financial system, and said deployers keep control of, and responsibility for, their own markets. The Block said it has asked Payward for comment.

The announcement builds on months of groundwork. Bloomberg reported in August that Payward was exploring a way to bring Hyperliquid-linked perpetual futures to U.S. traders through Bitnomial. Payward announced its plans on Sept. 16, saying Bitnomial would handle deployment, clearing and settlement, subject to regulatory approval.

The Hyperliquid Policy Center has made a related argument to European regulators, saying in a submission that regulated firms could use Hyperliquid to run markets with leverage limits and onchain access restrictions while offering regulated products.