CME and ICE urge CFTC scrutiny of Hyperliquid oil-linked derivatives

CME Group and Intercontinental Exchange, seeking U.S. regulatory review, have urged federal officials to scrutinize Hyperliquid, a decentralized derivatives platform, over concerns that its anonymous, around-the-clock oil-linked trading could enable market manipulation and sanctions evasion. The push, reported as reaching both the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and lawmakers on Capitol Hill, centers on whether Hyperliquid should register with the CFTC, a step that would typically require customer identification and trade surveillance measures.

CME and ICE executives raised the issue as Hyperliquid’s perpetual futures market has grown, including contracts tied to crude oil benchmarks. In their complaints, the companies said the platform’s decentralized structure and pseudonymous trading environment increase the risk that bad actors could distort prices used across traditional commodities markets. They also warned that anonymity could provide a pathway for coordinated insider activity and for participants that are subject to sanctions to influence trading beyond the reach of U.S. oversight.

Hyperliquid operates 24/7 and offers perpetual futures, which can be held without a...