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Hyperliquid Strategies has filed with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to register as a Futures Commission Merchant. The goal is to carry US client accounts for HIP-3 markets, the framework that lets outside parties launch markets on the Hyperliquid perpetual futures protocol.
What Hyperliquid Strategies actually filed
The filing landed around November 5, 2026, according to the research findings. Hyperliquid Strategies Inc. is associated with the Hyperliquid protocol and has been active in the ecosystem through investments in HYPE tokens and infrastructure development.
An FCM is the regulated middleman of the futures world. It holds customer accounts and handles trades for clients.
The filing targets accounts for HIP-3 markets, including a variant known as HIP-3*. That starred version is the one tied to CFTC-regulated deployments.
One major caveat applies. The timeline for the CFTC review is currently unknown, per the findings. Operational details, including which markets would be offered and how compliance would work, still hinge on regulatory approval.
HIP-3 is already doing serious volume
HIP-3 has been live on mainnet since October 13, 2025.
The framework allows parties to launch their own markets on Hyperliquid. Doing so is not cheap: over 500,000 HYPE tokens are required to launch markets under HIP-3.
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Approximately 26.7% of $64.7 billion in trading volume over the last 30 days is attributed to HIP-3 markets, according to the research findings.
Kraken’s parent got there first
Hyperliquid Strategies is not the first to try this route. Payward, the parent company of Kraken, became the first CFTC-regulated deployer on HIP-3* markets as of late October 2026.
Payward plans to deploy HIP-3* markets through its Bitnomial subsidiary. NinjaTrader Clearing will serve as the FCM for those client accounts under an allowlist model.
That structure gives a useful template for what Hyperliquid Strategies is attempting. Payward brought in an outside FCM to handle client accounts. Hyperliquid Strategies wants to be the FCM itself.
What this means for US traders and the onchain derivatives market
The most direct stakeholders are US traders who want onchain perpetual futures exposure through a compliant channel. If the CFTC approves the registration, they could potentially gain another regulated path into HIP-3 markets.
With Payward and NinjaTrader Clearing on one side and Hyperliquid Strategies potentially on the other, HIP-3* markets could end up with multiple regulated entry points.
The risks are mostly about time and terms. With no known review timeline, the filing could sit in process for an extended period. The CFTC could also shape the eventual offering through conditions on which markets are allowed and how compliance is handled.
