Kraken Parent Payward Plans Onchain Perpetuals on Hyperliquid for U.S. Clients

Payward, the parent company of Kraken, plans to deploy onchain perpetual futures markets for U.S. clients through Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 framework, bringing a regulated U.S. derivatives structure together with one of the largest onchain trading protocols.

The proposed markets would be built on Hyperliquid’s public blockchain, where its onchain order book would match and record trades. The launch remains subject to regulatory approval, and Payward has not announced a start date.

The company said it will begin with HIP-3 markets, a framework that allows external builders to deploy and administer permissioned perpetual futures markets on Hyperliquid.

Payward Targets U.S. Access to Hyperliquid Perpetuals

Under the proposed structure, Payward’s regulated subsidiaries would handle the exchange, clearing and customer-account functions.

Bitnomial Exchange, Payward’s CFTC-regulated designated contract market, would deploy, own and administer the markets. Bitnomial Clearinghouse would clear and settle the contracts, while NinjaTrader Clearing, a CFTC-registered futures commission merchant and NFA member, would carry client accounts.

Only clients onboarded by NinjaTrader and included on both NinjaTrader and Bitnomial’s allowlists would be able to trade the contracts.

“A U.S. client would open a futures account with Payward’s registered broker and trade new perpetual futures contracts on Hyperliquid, cleared through the same clearinghouse that already supports the crypto perpetual contracts Payward offers U.S. clients today,” said Jon Pham, Head of U.S. Derivatives at Payward.

The structure means U.S. clients would not simply gain access to Hyperliquid’s existing permissionless markets. Instead, Payward would deploy separate permissioned markets while keeping customer onboarding, clearing and regulatory responsibilities within its U.S. derivatives infrastructure.

Connecting Onchain Trading With Regulated Infrastructure

Payward Co-CEO Arjun Sethi said the company intends to become the first registered U.S. exchange or clearinghouse to deploy a market on Hyperliquid.

“Payward intends to be the first, holding the keys and carrying the regulatory obligations,” Sethi said.

The move comes as U.S. platforms seek to develop regulated access to perpetual futures, which have historically been concentrated on offshore and decentralized venues.

Unlock Blockchain previously reported on theU.S. push to bring perpetual futures into regulated domestic markets, amid competition from offshore venues and growing derivatives activity outside the United States.

The latest plan takes that strategy further by placing the trading markets themselves on a public blockchain while retaining a CFTC-regulated exchange and clearing structure.

Hyperliquid Becomes the First Planned Deployment

Hyperliquid is the first protocol Payward plans to use for U.S. clients.

The protocol has become a major venue for onchain perpetual futures. Payward said more than $85 trillion in perpetual futures volume was recorded globally in 2025, citing CoinGecko’s 2026 State of Crypto Perpetuals report.

Recent data also highlights Hyperliquid’s scale. The protocol processed more than $200 billion in trading volume over the previous 30 days, according to DeFiLlama, while CoinGecko ranked it the most active onchain perpetual futures venue in 2025.

Hyperliquid has also been attracting integrations from major crypto infrastructure providers. Coinbase has officially become the USDC treasury deployer on Hyperliquid, highlighting the protocol’s expanding role in onchain markets.

Payward’s proposed deployment introduces a different dimension, linking Hyperliquid’s onchain trading infrastructure with regulated U.S. derivatives market infrastructure.

Perpetual Futures Move Further Into U.S. Markets

Perpetual futures allow traders to maintain positions without a fixed expiration date, with funding mechanisms generally used to keep contract prices aligned with the underlying asset.

The products have become a major part of global crypto derivatives markets but have historically been difficult to offer to U.S. clients under the existing regulatory framework.

Payward has been expanding its regulated presence across major markets. In the UAE, Payward secured preliminary regulatory approval from VARA, supporting Kraken’s plans to expand its regulated operations in the region.

In the United States, Payward has already expanded its derivatives offering through its regulated infrastructure. Its proposed Hyperliquid deployment would combine that framework with an onchain order book and blockchain-based trade records.

For Hyperliquid, the arrangement would introduce a regulated U.S.-focused market operator without opening its existing markets directly to U.S. clients.

Payward said Hyperliquid is the first protocol in a broader plan to make additional onchain products accessible through established regulatory frameworks.

The company said its wider objective is to allow products developed on different protocols to reach customers through regulated financial infrastructure, with additional markets expected to follow.