Sources: Hyperliquid is in talks to enter the US market via Kraken parent company Payward, weeks after Trump said he was working to bring the platform onshore
Hyperliquid Labs is in advanced talks to bring its perpetual futures to US traders through Kraken's parent company Payward …
Context & Ripple Effects
The reported Payward discussions follow Trump's August statement that CFTC Chair Michael Selig was working to bring Hyperliquid onshore. They also fit Kraken's longer effort to broaden its US-facing financial-services footprint, alongside its reported 2025 IPO ambitions after the SEC dropped its case against the exchange.
First-order effects
- If the reported agreement is completed, Hyperliquid would reach US traders for perpetual futures through Payward rather than solely through its existing platform.
- Payward would become Hyperliquid's US distribution and market-access partner for the proposed offering, adding a derivatives product to Kraken's broader expansion agenda.
Second-order effects
- The arrangement would make Payward a key gatekeeper between Hyperliquid's trading venue and US customers, concentrating responsibility for customer access and product implementation with the partner.
- A Payward route would test whether a crypto-native perpetual-futures venue can extend its liquidity network through an established US-facing exchange operator.
Third-order effects
- If comparable partnerships proliferate, US crypto derivatives access will be organized around regulated distribution partners rather than direct access to global trading venues.
- The resulting market may fragment by jurisdiction and intermediary, with liquidity advantages accruing to platforms that can connect product depth to compliant local access.
The trend: Crypto-native trading venues are seeking US growth through regulated exchange partners that can translate global liquidity into jurisdiction-specific market access.