Crypto15 September, 20262 min read
Payward Plans Permissioned Hyperliquid Perpetual Futures for U.S. Clients Via Bitnomial
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Payward plans U.S. on-chain perpetual futures via Hyperliquid HIP-3. Bitnomial will deploy, clear, and settle contracts under CFTC rules.
9 outlets told this the same way.
Payward’s Hyperliquid Perps Plan
Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, announced plans to launch onchain perpetual futures for U.S. clients starting with Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 infrastructure, with the markets subject to regulatory approval. The proposal would have trades take place on Hyperliquid’s public blockchain, where an onchain order book matches and records transactions, while Bitnomial would serve as the HIP-3 operator to create, own, administer, clear and settle the contracts. Client accounts would be carried by NinjaTrader Clearing, a CFTC-registered futures commission merchant, and access would be limited to users onboarded through NinjaTrader and included on both NinjaTrader and Bitnomial allowlists.
“We’re building permissioned Hyperliquid HIP-3 markets for US clients.”
Payward said it confirmed the project on its verified X account, stating: “We’re building permissioned Hyperliquid HIP-3 markets for US clients.” In a separate statement, Payward co-CEO Arjun Sethi said: “We already offer our own perpetuals and intend to deploy them on Hyperliquid as well, putting clients first, not ourselves.”
Allowlists, Operators, and Access
Multiple outlets described a permissioned structure built around allowlists, with Payward saying only accounts onboarded by NinjaTrader and included on both NinjaTrader’s and Bitnomial’s allowlists could trade. CoinDesk said the proposal would allow U.S. clients to trade new Payward-created contracts on Hyperliquid’s public blockchain if approved, with clients needing futures accounts with Payward’s broker, NinjaTrader Clearing, and Bitnomial and approved by both NinjaTrader Clearing and Bitnomial. The Defiant reported that Bitnomial would be the HIP-3 deployer, creating, owning and administering the market and clearing and settling the contracts, while NinjaTrader Clearing would carry customer accounts.
Payward also framed the access model as a regulatory distribution of roles, and The Defiant quoted Payward saying: “Payward intends to be the first, holding the keys and carrying the regulatory obligations.” In the same coverage, CoinDesk quoted Jon Pham, head of U.S. derivatives, saying: “A U.S. client would open a futures account with Payward’s registered broker and trade new perpetual futures contracts on Hyperliquid.”
Regulatory Review and Market Stakes
The plan’s timing and availability hinge on regulatory approval, and CoinDesk said Payward did not disclose a launch date, fee schedule, expected trading volumes, details of any economic arrangement with Hyperliquid, or a planned launch date. CoinDesk also tied the proposal to the broader U.S. context for perpetual futures, noting that perpetual futures have largely traded outside U.S. regulated markets since their debut in 2016 and that in 2025 alone more than $85 trillion changed hands worldwide. The Defiant and incrypted both described Hyperliquid as the first protocol Payward plans to deploy on for U.S. clients, with incrypted adding that Hyperliquid’s trading volume over the past 30 days exceeded $200 billion.
CoinDesk reported that Hyperliquid’s decentralized exchange settles roughly 9% of all open perp positions worldwide, while DefiLlama data cited by CoinDesk showed Payward’s revenue fell 43% in third-quarter 2025 to about $202 million in second-quarter 2026. For Hyperliquid, CoinDesk said the proposed deployment could add a CFTC-regulated operator and a new source of U.S.-linked activity to its chain, while also stating it does not mean its existing perpetual markets become available to U.S. customers.