Hyperliquid explores U.S. futures access via Bitnomial partnership

Hyperliquid Labs is in advanced discussions with Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, to bring a selection of its perpetual futures products to U.S. traders through a regulated pathway. The proposed arrangement would route trading through Bitnomial, a CFTC-regulated exchange and clearinghouse that Payward acquired earlier this year, rather than opening Hyperliquid's own decentralized platform to American users.

Under the structure being explored, registered U.S. customers would access a subset of crypto-linked perpetual futures tied to Hyperliquid's blockchain via Bitnomial. Payward would serve as the regulated operator and hold the customer relationship, addressing a core regulatory obstacle for Hyperliquid, which has never served U.S. customers directly. The platform, built as a permissionless decentralized exchange, handles more than $4 billion in daily trading volume, but its lack of a central gatekeeper has drawn regulatory concerns about market manipulation, money laundering, and sanctions evasion.

Payward has already presented the basic framework to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, according to reports. However, the companies still require final...