Hyperliquid's native token, HYPE, surged roughly 20% on Thursday after Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, announced plans to launch US perpetual futures markets with Trade[XYZ], a firm whose investors include billionaire Wall Street investor Stanley Druckenmiller.

At the time of writing, HYPE traded above $96, up about 20% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko, approaching September's all-time record of $97.96.

Perpetual futures allow traders to take positions on asset prices without an expiration date, a contract format that emerged in crypto markets. Data from DefiLlama shows that Hyperliquid is the world's largest decentralized exchange for trading such instruments.

The companies said Thursday that they will seek regulatory approval for markets covering cryptocurrencies, stocks, indexes, commodities, and currencies. The proposed venue would target retail traders and operate separately from ICE's institutional futures business, backed by a dedicated clearing structure.

More than 99% of participation in ICE's markets is institutional, the exchange said, and the separate clearing structure is intended to shield existing customers from retail counterparty risks.

The proposal would give US retail traders a regulated route to Hyperliquid-based perpetual futures while giving ICE a new path into retail trading. President Donald Trump said on Aug. 19 that Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair Michael Selig was working to bring Hyperliquid into the United States in a “fully compliant and legal fashion.”

Druckenmiller investment draws Musk reaction

“I am excited to be an investor in trade(xyz),” Druckenmiller wrote on X, adding that he looked forward to using its products. Elon Musk also drew attention to the agreement, sharing Druckenmiller's post with the one-word comment “Interesting.”

ICE is taking a minority stake in Trade[XYZ] but has disclosed neither the size of the investment nor a launch date. Cointelegraph reached out to ICE and Trade[XYZ] for comment but had not received a response by publication.

Customers would undergo identity and Anti-Money-Laundering checks and trade through participating futures brokers. Distribution is expected through ICE's joint venture with OKX, pending separate approvals. ICE invested in OKX at a $25 billion valuation in March.

OKX venture faces issuer objections

Meanwhile, ICE's separate tokenized stock venture with OKX has disclosed objections from 38 companies, up from the 26 reported by Cointelegraph on Oct. 27. Its Oct. 28 notice adds Walmart, Eli Lilly, Carnival, Arcos Dorados, and Cigna. Those objections concern tokenized shares, however, while the Trade[XYZ] proposal involves perpetual futures and remains subject to separate regulatory approvals.

The regulatory opening remains conditional. The CFTC approved Kalshi's Bitcoin perpetual contract in May but said perpetuals referencing other asset classes should receive case-by-case review, a framework that would apply to the stocks, indexes, commodities, and currency markets ICE and Trade[XYZ] say they plan to offer.