Payward, the parent company of Kraken, plans to bring on-chain perpetual futures to eligible U.S. customers through Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 infrastructure.
The proposed markets would use Bitnomial, a CFTC-regulated company, to deploy, administer, clear and settle the contracts. The plan still needs regulatory approval and is not yet available for U.S. trading.
Hyperliquid would be the first blockchain used for the planned service. The goal is to combine Hyperliquid’s on-chain trading system with Payward’s existing regulated U.S. derivatives infrastructure.
Under the proposed setup, Bitnomial Exchange would create and manage the perpetual markets. Bitnomial Clearinghouse would handle clearing and settlement, while trades would be matched and recorded through Hyperliquid’s on-chain order book.
HIP-3 allows independent teams to create perpetual markets using Hyperliquid’s trading infrastructure. Market operators can set contract details, oracle prices, leverage limits and settlement rules.
Hyperliquid has also added permissioned markets, allowing operators to control which wallets can trade. Payward plans to use this feature for U.S. customers who meet the required regulatory and account conditions.
U.S. traders would first need an account through NinjaTrader Clearing. They would then need approval for the relevant Bitnomial market, and their wallet address would have to be added to the approved HIP-3 access list.
This means U.S. customers would not automatically gain access to all perpetual markets available on Hyperliquid. Bitnomial would decide which regulated products it launches under its exchange rules.
Bitnomial already has the main regulatory registrations needed for Payward’s U.S. derivatives business. The CFTC designated Bitnomial Exchange as a contract market in 2020, while Bitnomial Clearinghouse is registered as a derivatives clearing organization.
NinjaTrader Clearing would handle the customer accounts. It is registered with the CFTC as a futures commission merchant and is a member of the National Futures Association.
Payward acquired Bitnomial earlier this year, giving the Kraken parent control over exchange, clearing and brokerage infrastructure for its U.S. derivatives operations.
Kraken began offering perpetual futures to eligible American customers through Bitnomial in June. The new proposal would use parts of that same regulated structure while moving the trading activity onto Hyperliquid’s blockchain infrastructure.
The plan comes as activity on Hyperliquid continues to grow. DefiLlama data showed nearly $237 billion in perpetual futures volume over the latest 30-day period, with more than $5.3 trillion in cumulative perpetual volume.
Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 system allows teams to launch markets beyond cryptocurrencies, including products linked to equities, commodities and other financial assets.
TradeXYZ was the largest HIP-3 operator during the second quarter, according to research cited in the source material. The report estimated that it handled $202.36 billion in volume during the quarter and accounted for 95.1% of HIP-3 trading volume. These figures came from independent researchers and were not audited financial results.
The broader perpetual futures market is also large. CoinGecko reported that centralized perpetual exchanges handled $85.3 trillion in volume during 2025, while decentralized perpetual venues processed $6.38 trillion.
Payward says the proposed U.S. system would keep regulated account controls in place even though the actual market execution would take place on public blockchain infrastructure.
Jon Pham, Payward’s head of U.S. derivatives, said the company plans to use the same clearinghouse that supports its existing American perpetual futures.
Payward co-CEO Arjun Sethi said Bitnomial would hold the market keys and manage the regulatory responsibilities under the proposed structure.
The idea follows discussions that began earlier this year between Payward and Hyperliquid about creating a regulated route for U.S. customers. Hyperliquid later added permissioned HIP-3 markets, providing the technical feature needed to restrict access to approved users.
Payward has not announced a launch date for the proposed Hyperliquid markets. The company said the contracts remain subject to regulatory approval and would be listed under Bitnomial Exchange rules.
Current regulatory records confirm the existing registrations of Bitnomial Exchange, Bitnomial Clearinghouse and NinjaTrader Clearing, but they do not establish final approval for the specific HIP-3 arrangement announced on Sept. 16.
Payward said Hyperliquid will be the first blockchain protocol used for its planned U.S. on-chain perpetual markets. The company also said it intends to make similar regulated infrastructure available for other partner products, although it has not announced additional blockchain networks or a launch timetable.
