Hyperliquid U.S. entry plan hinges on regulated partnerships and rule changes

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Hyperliquid U.S. entry plan

Highlights

Kraken's parent is working with the CFTC via Bitnomial to offer registered U.S. users access to select Hyperliquid-linked crypto perpetuals, circumventing direct offshore market access.
Hyperliquid's anticipated U.S. product is expected to have stricter customer vetting, fewer markets, lower leverage, and an accountable legal entity compared to the global platform.
Regulatory changes from the SEC and CFTC enabling U.S. access to Hyperliquid could take up to a year, with Coinbase also filing to list equity perpetuals amid ongoing policy debate.

Regulated access model takes shape

The Block reports that President Donald Trump says his administration is working to bring Hyperliquid into the U.S. "in a fully compliant and legal fashion," while Kraken's parent company is already working with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to offer registered U.S. users access to selected crypto perpetuals linked to Hyperliquid markets through Bitnomial, a CFTC-regulated platform.

That structure could let Hyperliquid contribute technology, liquidity or market design without opening its current offshore venue directly to U.S. users, according to Nansen Research Analyst Nicolai Sondergaard. He says the likely result is a separate U.S.-focused product built on Hyperliquid infrastructure, with know your customer checks, sanctions screening, customer fund protections and a clearly accountable legal entity.

Sondergaard says the distinction matters because U.S. users can technically reach Hyperliquid through the underlying chain even though the platform's terms restrict them. He adds that a formal U.S. access layer would probably offer fewer markets, lower leverage and tighter risk controls than the permissionless global venue, while avoiding a blanket know your customer model across the entire platform.

Regulatory timeline and market impact

Former SEC senior counsel Ashley Ebersole says both the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission would likely need to help craft revised interpretive rules covering custody and current routing mechanics. Now co-founder and chief legal officer at tx, Ebersole says the Bitnomial and Hyperliquid link gives the project a regulatory head start that could shorten a process that otherwise might take months or years.

Policy groups are also pressing for a joint framework. In a letter last month, the Hyperliquid Policy Center urged the SEC and CFTC to adopt a harmonized approach for perpetual contracts, while the CFTC has already moved to allow bitcoin perpetual futures listings in the U.S. after greenlighting KalshiEX and Coinbase in May; Coinbase said on Thursday it filed a notice registration form with the SEC to begin listing equity perpetuals.

Ebersole says rule changes at the SEC and CFTC are still slow and could take up to a year even if regulators move quickly, leaving the effort exposed to political change after the 2028 presidential election. If Hyperliquid does establish a functioning U.S. venue, he says it could add pressure on traditional exchanges to accelerate the shift toward extended-hours trading, though critics including Americans for Financial Reform and Demand Progress warn that easier access for crypto platforms could increase instability across U.S. financial markets.

Our previous article on CFTC commissioner vacancies in the run-up to the Clarity Act vote explained how the regulator’s staffing shortfall has become a bargaining chip in Senate negotiations over crypto market structure. It noted that with four seats open and only one sitting commissioner, both parties are tying confirmations to the bill’s prospects—raising uncertainty for how quickly the CFTC can set and enforce rules central to digital-asset derivatives.

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