US agrees ‘perpetual’ futures trading after offshore Hyperliquid’s huge growth

{"text":[[{"start":10.75,"text":"The US derivatives regulator has approved the country’s first so-called perpetual contracts, in a move that comes after trading of the instruments surged on the unregulated and decentralised exchange Hyperliquid."}],[{"start":24.05,"text":"The Commodity Futures Trading Commission said on Friday it had allowed the listing of a perpetual contract that references the spot price of bitcoin, and that it would review contracts tied to other assets on a case-by-case basis. "}],[{"start":38,"text":"The step is likely to further popularise such risky, highly leveraged contracts. "}],[{"start":43.25,"text":"Hyperliquid has led the advance of “perps”, which allow users to bet on the prices of assets tied to cryptocurrencies, oil and traditional stocks, as well as private companies. "}],[{"start":54.35,"text":"The firm was little known outside crypto circles before the outbreak of the Iran war, which sparked a surge of activity in its oil-linked contracts, as traders rushed to make bets on turbulent energy markets outside weekday trading hours and at weekends."}],[{"start":70.5,"text":"Hyperliquid’s rise has forced regulators and traditional exchanges to take notice. The CFTC’s approval opens the door for traders in the US to access perpetual contracts offered on registered exchanges, allowing them to make bets that could result in significant losses. "}],[{"start":87.55,"text":"Hyperliquid did not respond to requests for comment."}],[{"start":91.25,"text":"Perpetual futures are derivative contracts that have no expiration and are used by traders to speculate on asset prices without making or accepting delivery. Traders like the relative ease of the directional betting they offer and the ability to leverage their bets for potentially bigger profits, including up to 40 times leverage on Hyperliquid."}],[{"start":111.1,"text":"“It’s tapped a 24/7 crypto trading community who seek out volatile assets,” said Neil McDonald, chief executive of Moomoo US, a retail-focused trading platform. “People are looking for big moves.”"}],[{"start":125.94999999999999,"text":"WTI and Brent crude oil contracts make up nearly half of all trades that have taken place on Hyperliquid since its launch in 2023, according to figures from CoinDesk Data. The next biggest are futures tracking the price of silver and the Nasdaq 100 index, highlighting demand for speculation on prices of real assets rather than crypto tokens during recent market volatility. "}],[{"start":151,"text":"“Weekend trading [on Hyperliquid] at the outset of the Iran war highlighted the structural gap in traditional markets,” said Patrick Moley, senior research analyst at Piper Sandler. "}],[{"start":162,"text":"Such trading has made Singapore-based Hyperliquid wildly successful, with roughly $960mn of revenue in 2025 and only a dozen employees including its founder Jeff Yan, previously of Hudson River Trading."}],[{"start":176.5,"text":"The price of Hyperliquid’s HYPE token has soared nearly 70 per cent over the past year, in sharp contrast with the world’s biggest cryptocurrencies, which have struggled to recover from a crash last October. "}],[{"start":188.7,"text":"As a decentralised platform, Hyperliquid does not comply with broad know-your-customer and anti-money laundering controls and is not allowed to give traders based in the US access to its exchange. "}],[{"start":200.35,"text":"However, users have easily circumvented such “geofencing” to access platforms such as offshore prediction market Polymarket by using apps that disguise user location such as VPNs."}],[{"start":212.54999999999998,"text":"Hyperliquid now faces stiff competition after the CFTC opened a route for registered exchanges in the country to list similar contracts. "}],[{"start":221.24999999999997,"text":"Prediction market operator Kalshi said it would “soon” make regulated perps available in the US after receiving approval from the CFTC for a contract linked to bitcoin. Coinbase said it had approval to connect the country to global crypto options and perps. "}],[{"start":237.49999999999997,"text":"Traditional exchanges are scrambling to capture rising demand for perpetuals and after-hours trading, while also expressing concern about Hyperliquid’s growth beyond the reach of regulatory oversight.  "}],[{"start":250.44999999999996,"text":"Hyperliquid is “one of the biggest challengers to the whole infrastructure”, said Paul Howard, senior director at crypto market maker Wincent, adding that “there is less protection there, that’s the draw for some people”."}],[{"start":263.29999999999995,"text":"Last week, Intercontinental Exchange, owner of the New York Stock Exchange, said it was creating oil perpetual futures contracts for trading in Europe and Asia with crypto group OKX. "}],[{"start":275.54999999999995,"text":"“It’s a wake-up call for the industry,” said Jeff Sprecher, chief executive of ICE at a conference this month. “While most of these [offshore exchanges] are unregulated foreign entities and our clients don’t even have the ability to trade on these things . . . they’re all watching it.”"}],[{"start":292.54999999999995,"text":"For incumbents, “when you’re doing all that compliance and a small shop comes out in a renegade way, it’s fair to say we want to offer a regulated version”, said Haider Rafique, chief marketing officer at OKX. "}],[{"start":305.9,"text":"“If something happens to Hyperliquid, it impacts the entire industry as well as Wall Street. If there’s a bad fluctuation or poor settlement, it can result in billions lost in a second. That’s a clear risk,” he added. "}],[{"start":319,"text":"Hyperliquid has said concerns among traditional exchanges are “unfounded”, through a policy centre it launched in February with $29mn in funding, with a roster of lobbyists to advance its objectives in Washington. "}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":333.5,"text":"“Perpetuals are a superior product for non-professionals, so of course, those venues are trying to protect their business,” said Bob Diamond, former Barclays boss and chair of Hyperliquid Strategies, a publicly traded company that invests in HYPE. "}],[{"start":349.05,"text":"Concerns that Hyperliquid could be susceptible to price manipulation are “vacuous,” he added. "}],[{"start":355.40000000000003,"text":"Diamond said he was encouraged by meetings that the firm and its allies have had with regulators and politicians in Washington in recent weeks."}],[{"start":363.45000000000005,"text":"“Do the regulators recognise the advantages in 24/7 trading? Absolutely,” he said. "}],[{"start":369.85,"text":"Yan, who now lives in Singapore and also attended the meetings, said earlier this month on X that he looked forward to “working hard to make American access to Hyperliquid a reality”."}],[{"start":389.45000000000005,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1780122480_7187.mp3"}