Payward Plans to Operate First U.S.-Regulated HIP-3* Market on Hyperliquid
Key Facts
Payward, the parent company of Kraken, plans to become the first operator of HIP-3* markets on Hyperliquid regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, in a move aimed at making perpetual futures available to U.S. customers. The Block reported that the planned deployment remains subject to regulatory approval, while the functionality is currently available on the testnet. The proposal places an order book on a public chain within a structure in which Payward-affiliated entities would be responsible for market operations and customer accounts. The addition gives market operators the option to restrict access through allowlists, but does not mean the proposed trading has become regulated or available to customers. Payward announced its plan on September 16, 2026, describing the markets as the first restricted perpetual markets created by developers on the protocol.
The plan separates market functions from brokerage: Bitnomial, a Payward subsidiary registered with the commission as a trading and clearing organization, would create, own and operate the market, as well as clear and settle the contracts. NinjaTrader Clearing, registered as a futures commission merchant, would carry the customer accounts. Payward said these entities would assume the regulatory obligations associated with their roles, while trades would be matched and recorded on Hyperliquid's order book on a public blockchain. Trading would be limited to accounts that have completed registration with NinjaTrader and are included on both NinjaTrader's and Bitnomial's allowlists. The structure means access eligibility would be managed at the operator and account levels, while trade matching and recording would remain on-chain.
HIP-3* differs from the HIP-3 rollout itself: it is an optional addition that lets an operator restrict access to the market it runs, while retaining control and responsibility. Hyperliquid described itself as a “neutral infrastructure layer aiming to support large parts of the financial system,” adding that operators retain control and responsibility for their markets. The format allows the protocol's order book to be used while determining who can trade through allowlists. But inclusion of accounts on the lists does not by itself establish that identity-verification procedures are built into the protocol; Payward said customers must complete registration with NinjaTrader and did not mention a separate, built-in verification mechanism. Regulatory approval remains a prerequisite for any planned Payward deployment.
Payward presents its planned entry as the first of its kind among regulated HIP-3 operators, based on its description of the market at the time of its September announcement. The company's co-CEO said one entity accounted for 98% of open interest in HIP-3 markets and that no registered U.S. exchange or registered clearinghouse had deployed a market on them. He added that Payward intended to be the first. This characterization places the company's plan in the context of an effort to bring a regulated U.S. operator into markets that, according to the company, lacked participation by a registered U.S. exchange or clearinghouse. These figures and descriptions were provided by Payward when it made its announcement; the available information did not indicate that approval to deploy the market had been granted.
The plan also draws on the expansion of perpetual futures trading outside the United States. Payward said these contracts have been traded outside the country since 2016 and that more than $85 trillion was traded globally during 2025, citing a 2026 CoinGecko report. The company also said Hyperliquid recorded more than $200 billion in trading volume during the 30 days before its September 16 announcement, citing DefiLlama data. For HIP-3 markets, The Block reported in July that their share of total perpetual futures volume on Hyperliquid rose from about 2% at the beginning of 2026 to nearly 50% by July, alongside growing demand for on-chain equity contracts. These figures suggest the plan comes as use of HIP-3 markets on the protocol expands, while Payward seeks to offer a regulated U.S. route.
But growth in trading volume did not translate into the same direction for HIP-3's share of open interest in the September reading. Total open interest on Hyperliquid was about $14.3 billion on September 6, after HIP-3 markets reached a record of more than $4.44 billion in August. Even so, HIP-3's share of total open interest fell from more than 34% in the previous month to about 25% in September. The comparison distinguishes between two different measures of activity: a share of trading volume that had risen to nearly half by July, and a share of open interest that declined in the subsequent period. The figures alone do not explain this divergence, but they provide a backdrop for market performance as the proposed plan moves forward.
JPMorgan analysts' reading projected that the launch of regulated U.S. crypto perpetual products would accelerate the movement of liquidity from offshore and decentralized platforms to domestic venues. Regulatory approval for Payward's deployment remains the main point to watch, along with the functionality's transition from testnet to a live launch if approved. The available information did not specify a launch date. Under the announced plan, the markets would combine management, clearing and settlement by Bitnomial with customer accounts carried by NinjaTrader Clearing, while matching and recording trades on Hyperliquid's public order book. Any trading would remain limited to accounts that meet registration requirements and appear on both allowlists.