Hyperliquid CEO Jeff Yan proposes that US regulators oversee licensed market operators building on the blockchain rather than the Layer-1 protocol itself. Yan compares the platform to internet infrastructure, suggesting that compliance should be handled by the financial firms running markets on top of the network.
In February 2026, the Hyperliquid Policy Center was established with 1 million HYPE tokens to facilitate discussions with the CFTC and SEC. On August 19, 2026, President Trump stated that CFTC Chair Michael Selig is working to bring Hyperliquid into US markets legally.
The platform currently utilizes the HIP-3 framework, which requires market deployers to stake 500 000 HYPE tokens for at least 183 days. This mechanism allows third parties to operate independent markets while keeping the main platform restricted for US users.
In September 2026, Payward, the parent company of Kraken, partnered with Bitnomial and NinjaTrader Clearing to launch permissioned perpetual futures linked to Hyperliquid. This model allows regulated firms to manage client onboarding and clearing while the blockchain remains in the background.
