Kraken parent company Payward intends to begin its planned onchain perpetual futures offering for U.S. traders with Hyperliquid's HIP-3 markets, which are builder-deployed permissioned perpetual futures markets. The proposed offering remains subject to regulatory approval. Cointelegraph reported the development in a post on X.

Perpetual futures, derivative contracts that carry no expiration date, are a heavily traded format in cryptocurrency markets, yet access to them through U.S.-regulated venues has been limited. Payward's plan addresses that gap by proposing to route the product through U.S. exchange, clearing, and brokerage channels while keeping the trading infrastructure onchain.

Placed Inside U.S. Regulated Derivatives Operations

Under the proposed structure, Payward would use Hyperliquid's public blockchain for the trading infrastructure while placing the markets within its U.S. regulated derivatives operations. Bitnomial Exchange, a Payward subsidiary and a Commodity Futures Trading Commission-regulated designated contract market, would create, own, and administer the markets. A designated contract market is the CFTC's designation for venues authorized to list futures contracts, so any approved Hyperliquid-based markets would fall under the standard U.S. futures supervisory framework. Bitnomial Clearinghouse would handle clearing and settlement, while NinjaTrader Clearing would carry customer accounts.

As a result, U.S. customers would not simply gain unrestricted access to Hyperliquid's existing perpetual futures markets. Instead, eligible traders would use newly deployed markets operated under the proposed regulated framework.

Payward has not announced a launch date, fee schedule, or projected trading volume for the proposed products. The company has also not disclosed the economic terms of any arrangement with Hyperliquid.

How the Hyperliquid Infrastructure Fits In

HIP-3 allows builders to deploy and administer their own perpetual futures markets on Hyperliquid. The proposed Payward deployment would use that framework while maintaining customer access and derivatives oversight through regulated U.S. entities.

According to details of the proposed structure, trade matching and records would remain on Hyperliquid's public blockchain. The arrangement would therefore combine onchain market infrastructure with regulated exchange, clearing, and brokerage operations.

Jon Pham, Payward's head of U.S. derivatives, said the planned structure would allow a U.S. client to open a futures account through Payward's registered broker and trade new perpetual futures contracts on Hyperliquid, with positions cleared through the same clearinghouse supporting Payward's existing regulated crypto perpetual products.

Regulatory Approval Remains Required

The plan comes as perpetual futures continue to represent a large segment of global cryptocurrency derivatives trading. According to CoinDesk, more than $85 trillion in perpetual futures changed hands worldwide in 2025, while Hyperliquid's decentralized exchange accounts for roughly 9% of global open perpetual positions. Those figures indicate the scale of the market segment the proposed U.S. framework would aim to serve.

Payward has been expanding its regulated U.S. derivatives infrastructure. The company acquired Bitnomial for $550 million in May, and it acquired NinjaTrader Clearing for $1.5 billion in 2025, giving the group exchange, clearing, and brokerage capabilities for its derivatives operations.

If regulators approve the plan, the proposed Hyperliquid markets would remain distinct from the exchange's existing unrestricted perpetual markets and would be available only through the proposed U.S. framework.

For now, Payward has identified Hyperliquid HIP-3 as the starting point for its planned onchain perpetual futures offering, with the timing of any U.S. launch dependent on regulatory approval. The to watch from here are regulatory decisions on the proposed markets and further Payward disclosures on launch timing, fees, and the terms of its arrangement with Hyperliquid.