Hyperliquid Plans Payward as First HIP-3 Deployer Regulated by the CFTC
Hyperliquid intends to make Kraken parent Payward the first CFTC-regulated deployer on HIP-3, with Bitnomial deploying and NinjaTrader Clearing carrying accounts. Permissioned allowlists are live on testnet; approval, KYC design and launch timing remain open.
Regulated U.S. perpetual futures trading on Hyperliquid now has a prospective first operator. The protocol said it intends to make Payward, the parent company of Kraken, the first CFTC-regulated deployer on its HIP-3 markets. The plan is tied to new permissioned-market functionality that could open regulated U.S. perps trading on the protocol.
Bitnomial, Payward's CFTC-regulated designated contract market and derivatives clearing organization, would act as the deployer, Hyperliquid said Monday in a post on X. If regulators approve, NinjaTrader Clearing, Payward's CFTC-registered futures commission merchant, would carry client accounts.
The upgrade would let HIP-3 deployers restrict market access through onchain allowlists. The functionality is live on testnet. Because the allowlists are optional, existing markets would be unchanged. Under Payward's structure, only allowlisted accounts would trade, with matching taking place onchain on Hyperliquid's order book.
"Hyperliquid is a neutral infrastructure layer with the goal of supporting large parts of the financial system"
Hyperliquid, protocol statement
Key operational details are still missing. It is unclear how permissioning would work in practice, including whether a Payward-deployed market would build in KYC checks. Payward has not disclosed a launch date or which markets it would offer, and the deployment remains subject to regulatory approval.
How the plan got here
Payward formally announced its plans on Sept. 16, saying Bitnomial would handle deployment, clearing and settlement, subject to regulatory approval. Bloomberg had reported in August that Payward was exploring a structure to bring Hyperliquid-linked perps to U.S. traders through Bitnomial. Payward acquired Bitnomial in May 2026.
The Hyperliquid Policy Center had previously argued in an EU regulatory submission that regulated firms could use Hyperliquid to run markets with leverage limits and onchain access restrictions. It also recently filed five recommendations with the SEC on airdrops and buybacks.
Market context
HIP-3, Hyperliquid's framework for third-party perpetual markets, has been live on mainnet since Oct. 13, 2025, and deployers must stake at least 500,000 HYPE. The segment made up about 26.7% of Hyperliquid volume. Total volume over the 30 days ending around Oct. 20 was $64.7 billion, and HIP-3 open interest stood at $3.92 billion.
Activity is heavily concentrated: trade.xyz accounts for roughly 97% to 98% of HIP-3 volume and open interest. The staking requirement also ties a deployer's economics to a volatile token.
For market participants, the open question is regulatory rather than technical. The functionality exists on testnet, but a CFTC-regulated deployment depends on approvals that have not been granted, and the design of permissioning and any KYC checks will shape how onchain matching fits alongside U.S. compliance obligations.
