Hyperliquid and Kraken parent explore U.S. futures expansion

Under the arrangement, U.S. customers would access these products exclusively through the Bitnomial venue rather than connecting to Hyperliquid’s decentralized platform. Payward, which acquired the Chicago-based exchange for an undisclosed sum earlier this year, has already presented an outline of the plan to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The proposal relies on Bitnomial’s existing infrastructure, which holds a designated contract market license and functions as a clearing organization and futures commission merchant.

While the project remains subject to regulatory clearance, the firms have not yet disclosed which assets will be included or if the HYPE token will be among the underlying products. This move mirrors Kraken’s own expansion strategy, which began using Bitnomial in June to offer perpetual futures to eligible U.S. clients. For Hyperliquid, the integration represents a shift in strategy; the protocol has historically restricted American access, citing the permissionless nature of its onchain markets. By shifting specific contracts into Bitnomial’s supervised system, the companies hope to satisfy federal requirements for anti-money laundering and customer identification that decentralized protocols currently lack. HYPE tokens traded near $84.50 following the reports, maintaining a strong rally that has seen the asset gain over 60% throughout August.