I watched Hyperliquid’s native token, HYPE, jump around 22% now after President Donald Trump said the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is working on a way to bring Hyperliquid into the United States under federal regulations.
During a White House meeting with crypto and technology executives, Trump said, “I understand that [CFTC Chairman] Mike [Selig] is also working to bring Hyperliquid into the United States in a fully compliant and legal fashion, working very hard on that.”
Trump made the comments during an event attended by several major figures from the crypto and financial industries, including Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, and Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev. Representatives from Nasdaq and Intercontinental Exchange were also present.
For context, Hyperliquid is a blockchain-based trading platform best known for perpetual futures, commonly called “perps.” These contracts allow traders to speculate on an asset’s price without actually owning the asset, and unlike traditional futures, they do not have an expiration date. Users can connect their crypto wallets directly to the platform rather than going through a traditional futures broker.
I think Hyperliquid’s rapid growth has also highlighted the increasing demand for perpetual futures, a market that has historically been dominated by offshore crypto exchanges. That growth has attracted attention from U.S. trading platforms looking to bring similar products to American traders.
The U.S. market has already started moving in that direction. The CFTC cleared Coinbase Derivatives to offer perpetual-style Bitcoin and Ether futures in April 2025, with trading beginning in July. Prediction-market operator Kalshi has also moved into a similar area, while other U.S. venues have introduced products that give American traders more regulated ways to access perpetual-style contracts.
However, bringing Hyperliquid itself into the U.S. would be more complicated. U.S. derivatives exchanges must comply with regulations covering registration, customer protection, market surveillance, and other oversight requirements. These rules have historically made it difficult for many crypto platforms to serve U.S. customers directly.
Trump did not explain exactly what a U.S.-based version of Hyperliquid would look like or which regulatory approvals would be required. More importantly, his comments do not mean that the CFTC has approved Hyperliquid.
Still, I see the remarks as an important signal that U.S. regulators may be exploring whether one of the largest venues for perpetual futures can operate within the American regulatory framework. For HYPE, that possibility appears to have been enough to trigger a sharp move higher.
