Payward, the parent company of Kraken, announced September 16 that it intends to deploy on-chain perpetual futures markets for US clients.
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The initial rollout will focus on Hyperliquid HIP-3 markets, marking a planned expansion of Payward’s derivatives offering through public blockchain infrastructure and regulated US financial entities.
Payward has operated open financial rails since 2011, serving clients across more than 190 countries and territories. As of June 30, 2026, the company reported 6.6 million funded accounts. Its independently reviewed Proof of Reserves also showed client assets backed above 100%, according to the company.
Payward Brings Regulated Access to Hyperliquid
The proposed markets would operate on Hyperliquid’s public blockchain, where its onchain order book matches and records trades.
Bitnomial Exchange would act as the HIP-3 deployer, creating, owning, and administering the markets, while Bitnomial Clearinghouse would clear and settle the contracts under its regulatory framework.
Clearing services provided by NinjaTrader Clearing, the registered futures commission merchant of Payward with the CFTC, would be used for holding client accounts.
The only accounts that would be permitted to trade were those that were onboarded via NinjaTrader and listed on the allowlists of both NinjaTrader and Bitnomial.
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Payward Plans US Access to Hyperliquid Perpetuals
“A US client would open a futures account with Payward’s registered broker and trade new perpetual futures contracts on Hyperliquid, cleared through the same clearinghouse that already supports the crypto perpetual contracts Payward offers US clients today,” said Jon Pham, Head of US Derivatives at Payward.
Perpetual futures have been traded in countries other than the US since 2016 and have become an important part of the cryptocurrency industry.
In the CoinGecko 2026 State of Crypto Perpetuals report, it is noted that over $85 trillion worth of trade was carried out in perpetual futures in 2025 alone.
Hyperliquid Gains Institutional Attention
Hyperliquid, which began operations in 2023, has become one of the biggest platforms for onchain perpetual futures.
CoinGecko rated it as the most active platform for onchain perpetuals in 2025, with Payward noting that DefiLlama figures had indicated a volume of more than $200 billion over the past 30 days.
“Hyperliquid has pushed the boundaries of onchain finance since its inception. This latest milestone shows how decentralized infrastructure can adapt to regulated markets, finding ways to distribute innovative and compliant products to users around the world,” said Calvin Leyon.
He noted that Payward would like to create a platform that can possibly be adopted for other products and markets, making more financial products available on-chain.
Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 Markets Show Strong Demand
The HIP-3 ecosystem offered by Hyperliquid has drawn substantial open interest in indices, commodities, and stocks. The top 10 markets in terms of open interest comprise over $2.49 billion in total.
The SP500 is the leader with $393 million, followed by SKHX with $365.4 million and GOLD and XYZ100 with $330.4 million and $277.8 million.
Source: Hyperliquid Daily’s X Post
Other markets from the HIP-3 category also exhibit high trading volume. SKHY, BRENTOIL, and MU are all traded with over $200 million open interest each, while CL stands at around $184.6 million open interest. Other markets include SPCX and SNDK, which trade at $163.5 million and $132.6 million, respectively.
What Comes Next?
HyperLiquid is the first protocol that Payward aims to roll out for its US customers. The firm stated that other products can be developed following this open rails principle, but the overall goal is to make decentralized finance products easier to access via existing regulations.
If the regulation is approved, the perpetual futures will trade in accordance with the regulations of Bitnomial Exchange.
Payward revealed that Bitnomial Exchange, Bitnomial Clearinghouse, and NinjaTrader Clearing would offer the regulated platform for the perpetual futures trading for eligible US customers.
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This article contains market analysis and price predictions. These are not guarantees. Crypto markets are volatile. Always DYOR. Not financial advice.
