Intercontinental Exchange CEO Confirms Talks with Hyperliquid, Calls Platform 'Bigger Than Nasdaq'

May 29, 2026

Intercontinental Exchange CEO Jeffrey Sprecher disclosed at a May 27, 2026 Bernstein presentation that ICE held multiple discussions with Hyperliquid, calling the on-chain perpetual futures platform bigger than Nasdaq despite being operated by 11 people. ICE and CME pressed US officials to scrutinize Hyperliquid's offshore oil-linked trading. The platform offers up to 100:1 leverage and has provided weekend oil price discovery when traditional markets are closed.

ICE-Hyperliquid discussions

▪Jeff Sprecher is the founder and CEO of Intercontinental Exchange.
▪Jeff Sprecher spoke about Hyperliquid in a Bernstein presentation excerpt dated May 27, 2026.
▪Intercontinental Exchange CEO Jeff Sprecher has met with the Hyperliquid team multiple times to discuss what Hyperliquid is building, what ICE is doing, and where the two may have overlapping interests.
▪Intercontinental Exchange is the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange.

Weekend oil trading

▪Intercontinental Exchange plans to extend oil trading very late on Friday and reopen very early on Monday to narrow the window in which traditional oil markets are closed.
▪Many institutional energy clients are not trading on blockchain-based foreign venues and may not be permitted to do so under internal controls.
▪Intercontinental Exchange will not keep oil markets open through the entire weekend after pushback from major oil companies.
▪Hyperliquid has been trading oil on weekends when traditional oil markets are closed.
▪Hyperliquid's weekend oil trading has provided off-hours price discovery for markets that operate on more limited traditional schedules.

Hyperliquid market structure

▪Hyperliquid offers leverage of up to 100:1.
▪HYPE traded at $61.526 at press time.
▪Hyperliquid has attracted market makers and early adopters who would otherwise be active in traditional markets.
▪Hyperliquid settles on blockchain rails using stablecoins with algorithmic settlement.

SpaceX derivative listing

▪Hyperliquid has listed a derivative tied to SpaceX.
▪Jeff Sprecher said Hyperliquid's SpaceX derivative could become a test case for whether private-market price discovery on a DeFi venue matters to the broader financial system.

Platform scale comparison

▪Hyperliquid is operated by 11 people.
▪Jeff Sprecher stated that Hyperliquid is bigger than Nasdaq.

Regulatory tensions

▪Hyperliquid has argued that continuous onchain markets reduce rather than increase market risk.
▪Intercontinental Exchange and CME pressed US officials to scrutinize Hyperliquid's role in offshore, oil-linked trading, arguing that anonymous 24/7 markets could affect price discovery in commodities and create risks around manipulation or sanctions evasion.

Perspective of Intercontinental Exchange and CME

▪Intercontinental Exchange and CME pressed US officials to scrutinize Hyperliquid's role in offshore, oil-linked trading, arguing that anonymous 24/7 markets could affect price discovery in commodities and create risks around manipulation or sanctions evasion.
▪Intercontinental Exchange plans to extend oil trading very late on Friday and reopen very early on Monday to narrow the window in which traditional oil markets are closed.

Perspective of Hyperliquid

▪Hyperliquid has argued that continuous onchain markets reduce rather than increase market risk.
▪Hyperliquid's weekend oil trading has provided off-hours price discovery for markets that operate on more limited traditional schedules.