Hyperliquid stays on US trail as HPC, tradeXYZ court CFTC on energy perp contracts

The Hyperliquid Policy Center (HPC) and trade[XYZ] asked the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Wednesday, August 26, to build a regulated US market for energy perpetual contracts.

Should the CFTC grant the request, it will give American oil and gas traders a domestic venue to hedge crude and natural gas exposure around the clock, and this includes nights and weekends when conventional futures are closed.

A joint letter aimed at oil and gas

The two groups filed a joint comment letter with the CFTC covering contracts tied to WTI crude, Brent crude, and Henry Hub natural gas. 

HPC is an independent research and advocacy organization with ties to the Hyperliquid Foundation. 

trade[XYZ] is a HIP-3 deployer that runs traditional-asset perpetual markets on Hyperliquid. 

The project launched in October 2025, and since then, it has reportedly handled more than $500 billion in cumulative volume.

In May, the CFTC cleared the first perpetual contracts to trade as futures on a US exchange. 

However, the regulator limited them to crypto underliers, and its policy statement singled out energy as a class needing further review. 

In June, the CFTC then asked the public for input on perpetuals referencing storable, physically delivered commodities. HPC and trade[XYZ] are answering that request, and for them, energy is the logical next asset class after digital ones.

The February oil shock as Exhibit A

The letter cited February 28, when the fighting in the Middle East cut off regional energy exports, and US oil futures were shut down during part of the initial shock. 

As the fighting raged on, Brent oil’s price nearly hit $120 per barrel by March 9. This caused jet fuel prices to double within a very short window. Airlines that had locked in fuel costs weathered the storm, while those that did not have enough contingency suffered losses. 

Oil-linked perpetuals kept trading on Hyperliquid even during the closed window.

HPC and trade[XYZ] said that around two-thirds of the price move between Friday’s close and the benchmark’s Sunday reopening had already played out onchain before traditional venues came back.

Why a contract with no expiry can track the price

A perpetual contract has no settlement date. Instead, a recurring funding payment pushes its price back toward the asset it references. 

HPC and trade[XYZ] stated that they are not advocating for the retirement of dated futures, which still suit traders who need a specific delivery month or physical settlement.

The groups stated that standard WTI futures move in 1,000-barrel lots, close to $70,000 of notional at recent prices. The median off-hours trade in trade[XYZ]’s crude market runs near $1,300. 

HPC also points to its study, “Perpetual Futures as Complements to Dated Futures,” which found that in almost 75% of the weekend closures it sampled, the crude perpetual’s price sat closer to the benchmark’s Sunday reopening than to its own Friday close. 

What did HPC and trade[XYZ] ask the CFTC to do?

In their comment letter, the authors asked the CFTC to carry out five steps to bring energy perpetual contracts into the regulated US markets. They said that the CFTC can make this happen without the need for new legislation.

• The first on its list is the adoption of a technology-neutral framework for 24/7 trading. 
• The second step that HPC and trade[XYZ] posit is that the agency should confirm that exchanges and clearinghouses can run continuously under the existing Core Principles.
• The third step asks the CFTC to clarify what “business day” means for markets that never close.
• For the fourth step, the agency is to recognize stablecoins and tokenized collateral as eligible margin.
• Finally, they asked the regulator to confirm that regulated venues may use onchain rails for clearing and settlement, respectively. 

Hyperliquid’s wider push for the US market 

A few days earlier, HPC urged the SEC and CFTC to harmonize how they classify perpetuals by economic structure rather than underlying asset. 

The lobbying carries political cover as President Donald Trump stated that CFTC Chairman Michael Selig was working to bring Hyperliquid onshore “in a fully compliant and legal fashion.” 

HYPE went up by 40% after President Trump’s statement. 

However, everyone is not on board with the arrangement, as CME sued the CFTC in June over its decision to permit perpetual futures. Exchanges, including CME and ICE, have said that Hyperliquid should register with the agency. 

HYPE traded around $82.12 on Wednesday, per CoinMarketCap.

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