Payward pursues US access to HYPE perpetual futures

Payward, the parent company behind cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, is actively exploring a path to provide US traders with perpetual futures linked to Hyperliquid's HYPE token. Although regulatory and Kraken product information suggest the proposed expansion has not yet been officially launched in the US, the move would expand Payward's regulated derivatives business and grant American customers exposure to one of the most actively followed tokens in the crypto market through contracts with no fixed expiry.

Discussions have focused on leveraging Bitnomial, Payward's CFTC-regulated derivatives business, to offer selected perpetual contracts associated with Hyperliquid markets. Payward had submitted the proposed structure to the CFTC by the end of August, with regulatory clearance still pending. The arrangement under consideration would connect Hyperliquid-linked markets with a regulated US derivatives venue, as opposed to granting American customers direct access to Hyperliquid's offshore-style perpetual futures market.

This distinction is crucial for the product's regulatory status. While Kraken currently offers HYPE/USD perpetual futures to eligible non-US clients on Kraken Pro, US clients can only access fixed-term Hyperliquid futures through Kraken Derivatives US. The distinction between perpetual and conventional dated futures is important, as the latter have expiration dates and are typically subject to more stringent US regulations.

Payward has been progressively expanding regulated perpetual products for American traders, introducing the first CFTC-regulated perpetual futures to US customers using its Bitnomial infrastructure in the second quarter. The CFTC's Division of Market Oversight recently granted no-action relief for the removal of expiration dates from existing digital commodity perpetual-style futures contracts at Bitnomial and Coinbase Derivatives, further facilitating Payward's potential US launch.

Hyperliquid Labs and Payward have not publicly confirmed the launch of a HYPE perpetual futures product, but the regulatory groundwork is being laid for this expansion.