News about Hyperliquid

The article argues that the AI boom could cool, while nearly a dozen top cryptocurrencies have risen more than 100% this year. Hyperliquid (HYPE) is up 220% for the year and is estimated to control as much as 70% of the perpetual futures market on decentralized exchanges, but it remains off-limits to U.S. investors, and the Bitwise Hyperliquid ETF (BHYP) has traded since May. Zcash (ZEC) is up 136% year to date with a market cap of about $20 billion, and the Grayscale Zcash ETF (ZCSH) surpassed $1 billion in assets under management within its first 30 days. The article cautions that growth is not guaranteed: Hyperliquid needs approval to operate in the U.S., while Zcash is still about 80% below its 2016 highs.

The Clarity Act failed a procedural Senate vote on Sept. 15, but CFTC Chairman Michael Selig said the agency would pursue crypto rules under its existing powers. On Oct. 5, the CFTC issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking, the first formal step, targeting the middle tier of exchanges that offer margin trading. Proposed measures could require proof of reserves, segregation of client money from house money, and new listing reviews examining token ownership concentration and vesting schedules. After a 60-day public comment period following Federal Register publication, a proposed rule could follow, with final rules likely in 2027. The article says Hyperliquid faces the most exposure, since its core perpetual futures business falls on the top tier that the proposal does not cover.

The article argues that Solana, NEAR, Zcash and Hyperliquid are worth considering for five-year holdings alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum. Solana held $4.4 billion in tradeable tokenized assets as of Oct. 14, its tokenized-asset holders rose 47% in 30 days, and staking yields 4.9% annually. NEAR's Intents handled $4.8 billion of swaps in 30 days, generating $8.2 million in fees used for buybacks, while a proposal to cut issuance to 1.6% over two years, down from 2.5%, has no scheduled vote. About 29% of Zcash's supply sat in shielded pools as of Oct. 14, with the next halving estimated for Nov. 23, 2028. Hyperliquid directs about 99% of trader fees to buybacks, totaling $224 million in Q3 2026, or an annualized $694 million, equal to 3.9% of its $17.8 billion market cap.

Founder Jeff Yan told Bloomberg that U.S. regulators should oversee the firms operating trading markets on the blockchain rather than the network itself. He argued those deployers, not the underlying infrastructure, should meet regulatory requirements, which would let Wall Street firms run regulated trading businesses on Hyperliquid without the blockchain registering as an exchange. Hyperliquid remains closed to U.S. customers, but Payward, Kraken's parent, plans to offer U.S. investors derivatives using Hyperliquid's technology through a regulated exchange. His comments follow President Donald Trump's August statement that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) was working to bring Hyperliquid under federal regulation.

Hypercall, an options exchange built on Hyperliquid, has recorded about $640 million in notional volume since launching in June, with more than 80% coming from S&P 500 options. The platform lists daily, weekly and monthly expiries, trades around the clock and settles in USDC, with most volume concentrated in options expiring the next day. Open interest stands at about $49 million, of which $47 million is in S&P 500 options. The article says demand for blockchain access to traditional markets is growing, though volume remains small compared with Deribit, and options on SpaceX, Nvidia, Micron and SanDisk make up more than half of all trades.