Kraken parent plans Hyperliquid-based regulated US perpetual futures

• HIP-3 will have its first CFTC-regulated perpetual futures deployer in Payward. Hyperliquid announced that the Kraken parent will take on the role on its infrastructure.
• Optional on-chain allowlists under HIP-3* let deployers limit market access without giving up independent control of their markets.
• Using Bitnomial’s regulated exchange and clearing services, Payward had previously set out plans to extend perpetual futures models to individual stocks.

HIP-3 markets are set to gain their first Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)-regulated deployer. Hyperliquid (HYPE) has selected Payward, parent of crypto exchange Kraken, as the intended first participant in that role.

HIP-3: Payward plans permissioned markets on Hyperliquid

US customers would gain access to perpetual futures markets deployed by Payward using Hyperliquid’s infrastructure, Hyperliquid said in an X post on Monday. Regulatory approval is still required for the proposed arrangement.

Market creation, ownership and administration would sit with Bitnomial under the proposal, alongside contract clearing and settlement. Bitnomial is Payward’s CFTC-regulated designated contract market (DCM) and derivatives clearing organisation (DCO).

Subject to approval, client accounts would be carried by NinjaTrader Clearing, Payward’s CFTC-registered futures commission merchant (FCM).

With market operations and regulatory duties remaining with the independent deployer, the announcement advances efforts to bring regulated derivatives trading to Hyperliquid’s on-chain infrastructure.

Hyperliquid wrote: “Payward will use Hyperliquid as the infrastructure layer to deploy perpetual futures markets for US clients,”

HIP-3*: Hyperliquid details permissioned market framework

Optional permissioned markets are the focus of HIP-3*, the extension to Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 framework intended for this deployment. Deployers can limit access using on-chain allowlists administered either by themselves or by their sub-deployers.

A future network upgrade will add support for the configuration, according to Hyperliquid. A preliminary version is already available on testnet, although its specifications may change in response to feedback.

Existing markets will not change, the protocol stressed, because HIP-3* is an optional extension to HIP-3. Hyperliquid will provide the underlying infrastructure, while independent deployers keep control of, and responsibility for, their own markets.

Payward had signalled its intention in a 16 September statement to offer on-chain perpetual futures to US clients, starting with Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 markets. The latest announcement follows that statement.

In that earlier outline, Payward assigned market deployment, clearing and settlement to Bitnomial, with NinjaTrader Clearing carrying customer accounts. Access would be restricted: customers would have to complete NinjaTrader’s onboarding process and be included on allowlists maintained by both NinjaTrader and Bitnomial.

Becoming the first registered US exchange and clearinghouse to deploy markets on Hyperliquid was the company’s intention, Payward Co-CEO Arjun Sethi said in September.

Under the proposal, Payward’s regulated exchange, clearing and brokerage infrastructure would connect with Hyperliquid’s public blockchain and on-chain order book. Bitnomial Exchange’s rules would govern contract listings, while each relevant regulated entity would retain its own obligations.

Regulatory approval for Payward’s deployment remains outstanding, however. HIP-3* is also still in its initial testnet implementation, and Hyperliquid has not confirmed when the proposed markets will launch.

At $77.50, HYPE is nearly 3% higher over the past 24 hours at the time of writing.