Kraken parent Payward has announced plans to offer regulated, on-chain perpetual futures to eligible U.S. clients by deploying permissioned markets on Hyperliquid. The proposed structure utilizes Hyperliquid's new HIP-3* framework, allowing Payward's CFTC-regulated subsidiary Bitnomial to administer and clear trades while restricting access to approved users via NinjaTrader Clearing allowlists. The launch remains subject to regulatory approval.
Payward Hyperliquid perpetuals proposal
- ▪Payward's proposed structure would use Hyperliquid's public blockchain infrastructure and on-chain order book to match and record trades.
- ▪The proposed Hyperliquid perpetual contracts remain subject to regulatory approval and are not yet available for trading in the United States.
- ▪Kraken parent company Payward announced on September 16, 2026, plans to offer on-chain perpetual futures to eligible U.S. clients through Hyperliquid's blockchain protocol.
Bitnomial clearing settlement infrastructure
- ▪Payward acquired Bitnomial earlier in 2026 in a transaction previously valued at up to $550 million, giving Payward control of its own U.S. exchange, clearing, and brokerage infrastructure.
- ▪Payward's CFTC-regulated subsidiary Bitnomial Exchange would act as the HIP-3 deployer, creating, owning, and administering the proposed perpetual markets.
- ▪Bitnomial Clearinghouse would handle the clearing and settlement of the proposed Hyperliquid perpetual contracts under its existing CFTC-regulated infrastructure.
NinjaTrader account custody requirements
- ▪Access to the proposed markets would be restricted to U.S. traders who are onboarded by NinjaTrader Clearing and approved on both NinjaTrader's and Bitnomial's allowlists.
- ▪NinjaTrader Clearing, a CFTC-registered futures commission merchant, would carry the customer accounts for the proposed Hyperliquid perpetual markets.
HIP-3 permissioned market framework
- ▪Hyperliquid co-founder Jeffrey Yan introduced the HIP-3* permissioned market feature set in early September 2026.
- ▪Under Hyperliquid's mainnet rules, HIP-3 deployers must stake 500,000 HYPE tokens to launch a builder-deployed perpetual decentralized exchange.
- ▪The proposed arrangement uses HIP-3*, an optional extension of Hyperliquid's builder-deployed perpetuals framework that enables permissioned markets through deployer-controlled on-chain allowlists.
U.S. perpetual futures market context
- ▪Payward reported having 6.6 million funded accounts at the end of June 2026, representing a 42% year-over-year increase.
- ▪Global centralized perpetual exchanges generated $85.3 trillion in volume during 2025, while decentralized perpetual venues generated $6.38 trillion, according to a CoinGecko report.
- ▪Hyperliquid recorded approximately $237 billion in perpetual trading volume over a 30-day period preceding the September 16, 2026 announcement.
HYPE token price movement
- ▪Hyperliquid's native token, HYPE, gained more than 3% within hours of the September 16, 2026 announcement, while HYPE futures open interest on Binance increased by 7%.
- ▪HYPE was trading around $77 to $79 on September 16, 2026, representing a circulating-supply market capitalization of approximately $17 billion to $20 billion.
Debatable claims
- ▪The CFTC should approve Payward's proposed on-chain perpetual futures structure
- ▪Hyperliquid's HIP-3* upgrade undermines the permissionless nature of decentralized finance
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