CFTC’s Plans for Crypto Perpetual Trading Puts Focus on Hyperliquid’s HYPE

Hyperliquid’s native token, HYPE, jumped 15% on Thursday, outperforming the broader crypto market, after the team said it submitted formal responses to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regarding proposed regulation of perpetual swaps and 24/7 crypto trading.

In an X post early Friday, Hyperliquid Labs said it filed two comment letters supporting the CFTC’s proactive stance and urging regulators to embrace decentralized finance (DeFi) frameworks as a path to building safer, more efficient financial products.

The submission marks a rare instance of a DeFi-native protocol engaging directly with U.S. regulators, signaling both rising maturity in the sector and growing urgency around shaping favorable policy frameworks.

“We believe that Hyperliquid exemplifies how core DeFi principles can be put into practice to enhance market efficiency, integrity, and user protection,” the team wrote. “Supporting DeFI in the U.S. with open dialogue and a clear regulatory framework is an opportunity to ensure the U.S. remains a leader in financial innovation while robustly protecting users.”

The CFTC had requested public input on how to approach crypto derivatives in a round-the-clock trading environment.

Hyperliquid — which runs its own high-performance, level-1 blockchain and supports permissionless perpetual trading — framed its submission as a case study in how decentralized infrastructure can meet, and potentially exceed, the standards of traditional markets.

With on-chain volumes surging and whales like “James Wynn” placing billion-dollar positions on Hyperliquid, as reported Thursday, attention around the protocol is intensifying and traders are betting that early regulatory engagement could further legitimize HYPE’s long-term upside.