Payward Plans U.S. Perpetual Futures Markets on Hyperliquid After Global Trading Exceeded $85 Trillion
Key Facts
Payward, the parent company of Kraken, announced on September 16, 2026, that it plans to launch onchain perpetual futures markets for U.S. customers, starting with Hyperliquid’s HIP-3* markets. On October 26, Hyperliquid said Payward intends to become the first entity regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission to launch a market of this kind. The company has not announced a market launch, as the plan remains subject to regulatory approval. The proposal places Hyperliquid’s public infrastructure within a U.S. trading framework in which regulated entities handle market creation and customer accounts. This follows an August Bloomberg report that Hyperliquid Labs was in advanced talks with Payward about making its perpetual futures available to U.S. traders.
According to Payward’s announcement, Bitnomial Exchange will create, own and operate the proposed markets, and will clear and settle the contracts. Customer accounts will be held at NinjaTrader Clearing, which Payward described as a registered futures commission merchant with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The proposed structure limits trading to accounts that complete onboarding with NinjaTrader and appear on the allowlists maintained by both NinjaTrader and Bitnomial. Payward said, "Only accounts that have completed onboarding with NinjaTrader and are included on the NinjaTrader and Bitnomial allowlists can trade." Market access would therefore run through institutional procedures and designated lists, while order matching and trade recording would take place on Hyperliquid’s public infrastructure.
Payward says the proposed markets will operate on Hyperliquid’s public blockchain, where the onchain order book matches and records trades. Hyperliquid said the onchain allowlisting feature for restricting access is available on testnet, while Payward’s planned launch remains subject to regulatory approval. This technical readiness is at the testing stage and does not mean the market has begun operating for U.S. customers. Any listing, if approved, would also be governed by Bitnomial Exchange rules. Payward said, "Onchain perpetual futures will be listed under the rules of Bitnomial Exchange, LLC," with regulatory approval remaining a prerequisite.
Payward places the proposal in the context of a global perpetual futures market that it says has operated outside the United States since 2016. The company cited CoinGecko’s 2026 State of Crypto Perpetuals report, which said more than $85 trillion was traded globally in 2025 alone. Hyperliquid, which Payward said has operated since 2023, recorded trading volume exceeding $200 billion in the 30 days before the company’s September 16 announcement, according to DefiLlama data cited in the statement. Payward’s announcement also said CoinGecko ranked Hyperliquid as the most active onchain perpetual futures platform in 2025. These figures are presented as background on the platform and market; neither party announced an expected volume for the proposed U.S. market.
Payward said it had 6.6 million funded accounts as of June 30, 2026, and that an independent accountant’s review of its proof-of-reserves report showed customer assets covering more than 100% of liabilities. Commodity Futures Trading Commission records show that Bitnomial’s Hyperliquid US Dollar Spot contract was classified as a futures contract and approved on April 22, 2026, but it is a separate product from the proposed perpetual futures markets. The regulator’s records also show that Bitnomial Clearinghouse has been registered as a derivatives clearing organization since December 15, 2023, and is authorized to clear futures contracts, options on futures and certain swaps. These records distinguish approval of an earlier product from the new plan, which has not yet received the required approval. Payward’s announcement did not specify a market launch date or a timeline for completing approvals.