Hyperliquid Policy Center rebuts ICE and CME integrity claims

Hyperliquid’s Policy Center on Monday pushed back against market-integrity concerns raised by Intercontinental Exchange and CME Group, citing the public nature of on-chain transactions as a safeguard. The organization noted Brent perpetual futures on the Hyperliquid platform reached $21.51 billion in notional volume amid recent trading activity.

The two incumbent exchanges notified the Commodity Futures Trading Commission about risks they see in trading on a pseudonymous, unregulated venue. They told regulators they were concerned that trading without native know-your-customer checks could be exploited by insiders or sanctioned entities to influence oil prices and benchmarks used in shipping, fuel and commodity markets.

The Policy Center argued on X that Hyperliquid’s public ledger makes misconduct easier to detect and investigate and described the protocol’s structure as “hostile” to insider trading and price manipulation. The organization also wrote that “transparency serves as a strong deterrent for misconduct and facilitates surveillance, detection, and investigation.”

Hyperliquid operates as a decentralized exchange based in Singapore. The protocol does not require native KYC for users, while blocking accounts tied to the United States and Ontario, Canada. Trading in Brent perpetual futures on the platform has risen during a period of elevated energy-market volatility following recent military activity involving the United States, Israel and Iran.

Data from the market tracker Allium shows $21.51 billion in notional Brent perpetual futures volume since the uptick in trading. Perpetual futures are derivative contracts without a fixed expiry date. As of Friday, outstanding Brent perpetual contracts on Hyperliquid totaled about $306 million, or roughly 3.4% of the platform’s open interest. Perpetual contracts tied to Bitcoin represented about $2.2 billion in notional value, or about 24% of open interest.

The Hyperliquid Policy Center was formed in February and was funded with $29 million in the platform’s native token to serve as a legal and advocacy resource in the United States. The organization wrote that U.S. law is not currently designed for derivatives traded on public blockchains and expressed willingness to engage with policymakers as regulatory frameworks evolve.