Hyperliquid, the on-chain perpetuals trading venue, is reportedly pursuing entry into the U.S. market through a deal with Payward, the parent company of Kraken, centered on perpetual futures, according to Bloomberg's reporting. The talks represent a potential onshore path for a protocol whose derivatives order book has, to date, operated outside the U.S. retail market.

What Bloomberg reported about Hyperliquid and Payward

Hyperliquid is in talks with Kraken parent Payward regarding a U.S. market entry, per Bloomberg. The discussions are tied to perpetual futures — the product that anchors Hyperliquid's on-chain trading activity.

The reported arrangement would route Hyperliquid's perpetuals ambitions through Payward's U.S. footprint, as detailed in follow-on coverage of the Bloomberg report. Payward is the holding entity behind Kraken, one of the longest-operating U.S.-facing crypto exchanges, and already operates derivatives services under existing regulatory frameworks. Specific deal terms, structure, and timelines were not established in the available reporting, and neither party has issued a public confirmation.

Why a U.S. push matters for a perpetuals protocol

Perpetual futures — derivative contracts with no expiry date, settled against an underlying price index — are the operational core of the reported deal because they are Hyperliquid's flagship product, and they rank among the highest-volume crypto derivatives globally. U.S. retail access to crypto perpetuals has historically been constrained by the regulatory perimeter around derivatives, which in the United States places futures products under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's jurisdiction. A Payward-linked route would provide Hyperliquid with a compliant on-ramp rather than a direct offshore-to-retail offering.

For a venue whose liquidity has grown around its on-chain order book, a U.S. entry broadens addressable flow and positions Hyperliquid against domestic derivatives incumbents. Other major venues have pursued similar onshore derivatives strategies, including Coinbase's acquisition of the Deribit exchange, underscoring that U.S.-accessible perpetuals have become a competitive battleground. That competitive framing is why the reported talks read as a market-access play rather than a protocol upgrade — distinct from infrastructure moves such as Kinetiq's Elysium L2 built for Hyperliquid.

The reported interest also arrives amid continued on-chain engagement with the protocol, including large HYPE staking deposits from whale wallets. That base of native activity is what a U.S. distribution channel would be designed to extend.

What traders and the market will watch next

The immediate watchpoints are confirmation and structure: whether Hyperliquid and Payward publicly acknowledge the talks, and how a U.S. perpetuals offering would be legally and operationally organized. Until then, the report stands as an unconfirmed account of discussions rather than a closed transaction.

Market participants should also monitor user-access implications, since any onshore perpetuals product would carry its own eligibility, custody, and settlement mechanics separate from the current on-chain venue. Competitive positioning against established U.S. derivatives platforms is the other variable that a finalized deal would put in play.

Reported deal: Hyperliquid in talks with Payward on a U.S. entry focused on perpetual futures, per Bloomberg.

Status: Unconfirmed; no public statement from either party and no disclosed terms.

Key signals: Official confirmation, deal structure, and U.S. user-access details.