Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, announced on Wednesday that it intends to offer onchain perpetual futures markets to eligible United States clients, beginning with Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 framework. The plan remains subject to regulatory approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and would mark the first time a registered US exchange deploys such markets on the protocol.

Under the proposed structure, the markets would operate on Hyperliquid’s public blockchain, where an onchain order book matches and records trades. Bitnomial, Payward’s CFTC-regulated designated contract market and clearinghouse acquired earlier this year for $550 million, would serve as the HIP-3 deployer. It would create, own and administer the markets while clearing and settling the contracts. NinjaTrader Clearing, Payward’s CFTC-registered futures commission merchant purchased for $1.5 billion in 2025, would carry client accounts.

Access would be limited to accounts onboarded through NinjaTrader Clearing and placed on the allowlists of both NinjaTrader and Bitnomial. Clients would open futures accounts with Payward’s registered broker and trade newly created contracts listed under Bitnomial Exchange rules. The arrangement does not grant US users access to Hyperliquid’s existing perpetual markets.

How the Structure Works

Perpetual futures allow traders to take positions on the price of an underlying digital asset without owning it. Unlike traditional futures, these contracts have no expiration date and rely on periodic funding payments to maintain positions. Global perpetual futures volume exceeded $85 trillion in 2025, with Hyperliquid settling roughly 9 percent of all open positions worldwide.

Jon Pham, head of US derivatives at Payward, described the client experience: a US client would open a futures account with the firm’s registered broker and trade the new perpetual futures contracts on Hyperliquid, cleared through the same clearinghouse that already supports the crypto perpetual contracts Payward offers US clients today.

Payward already lists its own CFTC-regulated perpetual futures for eligible US clients through Bitnomial. Those products launched in June 2026 after the Bitnomial acquisition closed. The Hyperliquid deployment would expand the firm’s offerings by using the protocol’s public blockchain infrastructure for matching while keeping regulatory oversight with US-licensed entities.

Market Reaction and Broader Context

Following the announcement, the price of HYPE rose more than 4 percent in 24 hours, with trading volume increasing nearly 30 percent. Futures open interest across major platforms also climbed, including a 7 percent rise on Binance over the same period.

Hyperliquid’s project revenue declined 43 percent to about $202 million in the second quarter of 2026. The proposed US markets could introduce a new source of regulated activity to the chain, though Payward has not disclosed any fee schedule, expected trading volumes, economic arrangements with Hyperliquid or a launch timeline. A company spokesperson declined to speculate on potential revenue impact.

The initiative follows earlier discussions between the parties and comes amid ongoing efforts to expand regulated crypto derivatives access in the United States. Payward has not indicated when regulatory review might conclude or when trading could begin if approval is granted.