President Trump says he wants Hyperliquid to enter the US — here’s how it could happen

President Donald Trump said his administration is working to bring decentralized perpetuals exchange Hyperliquid into the United States "in a fully compliant and legal fashion," reviving questions about how a permissionless venue could operate under US rules. Hyperliquid's perp markets have grown quickly by letting traders take round-the-clock positions on crypto prices, but the platform is not currently available to US traders, and its terms of service restrict US persons.

Trump said last month that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission would work to bring Hyperliquid onshore. Kraken's parent company has since said it is working with the CFTC to give registered US users access to a selection of crypto perpetuals tied to Hyperliquid markets and its underlying Layer 1 blockchain, through Bitnomial, a CFTC-regulated platform.

A separate US product, not an open door

Nansen research analyst Nicolai Sondergaard said the arrangement would function as a distinct US offering built around Hyperliquid's technology and liquidity rather than opening the existing venue to American users, and that the final structure has not been formally announced. In his view, the regulated route would add know-your-customer checks, sanctions screening, customer-fund protections and a clear legal entity behind the product. The trade-off, he said, is that US users would likely see fewer markets, lower leverage and more conservative risk controls than those on the permissionless venue. Sondergaard argued against blanket KYC, saying it would strip privacy from legitimate users and push liquidity offshore while a compliant US access layer gives users a regulated option.

Ashley Ebersole, a former SEC senior counsel and now co-founder and chief legal officer at tx, told The Block that both the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission would likely need to weigh in on revised interpretive rules covering custody and current routing standards. He said a partnership of this kind supplies regulatory infrastructure that could otherwise add months or years to Hyperliquid's US roadmap, though the assets to be offered still require approval. Rule changes at the two agencies are slow, he added, with revisions possibly taking up to a year, and the 2028 election could shift priorities.

The CFTC has already moved on perpetuals domestically, clearing the way in May for bitcoin perpetual futures by greenlighting KalshiEX and Coinbase, while Coinbase said on Thursday it filed a notice registration with the SEC to list equity perpetuals. The Hyperliquid Policy Center has urged the SEC and CFTC to adopt a harmonized framework for perpetual contracts.

Opposition remains. CME CEO Terrence Duffy has criticized crypto perpetuals as a "disaster waiting to happen" and sued the CFTC over its approval of perpetual futures. Mark Hays of Americans for Financial Reform and Demand Progress said the administration's push for platforms like Hyperliquid has "a checkered history" and could raise risks for US financial markets.