ICE, CME Urge Regulators to Curb Hyperliquid Energy Perps

Executives from the Intercontinental Exchange and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange asked U.S. regulators to take action on Hyperliquid’s expansion into on-chain commodity trading. They raised concerns that Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 feature, launched in January 2025, allows anyone who stakes 500,000 HYPE tokens to deploy perpetual futures markets for electronically traded assets and that such markets could pose risks to oil and gas trading.

The executives described the platform as ‘anonymous’ and ‘unregulated’ and warned that those characteristics could increase the chance that private information or manipulative trading would distort prices in energy markets. They also flagged a risk that anonymous on-chain markets could be used by state actors to skirt sanctions on energy transactions.

On-chain metrics show growing activity since HIP-3 went live. Open interest in HIP-3 markets rose to more than $2.5 billion in May. The HYPE token climbed from about $20 to above $38 within three days of the launch and was trading near $44 at the time of publication. The platform directs a large share of trading fee revenue to HYPE buybacks, a practice that market participants say can increase token demand.

Regulators have been briefed on the exchanges’ concerns and are reviewing whether existing commodity and derivatives rules and surveillance systems cover on-chain derivatives. Officials are weighing options that include applying current rules to these products, imposing new registration or surveillance obligations for market builders, or restricting products that reference sensitive physical markets.

Supporters of on-chain perpetuals say the model allows faster product rollout and new venues for price discovery. Critics point to limited identity controls and weaker oversight, which they say could allow small groups to build and influence markets that reference physical commodities. Some investors and analysts are monitoring the revenue and buyback model as volumes move from centralized venues to decentralized exchanges.

Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 reflects a broader trend of traditional financial products and instruments appearing on blockchain networks. Regulators’ decisions on whether and how to apply existing rules or create new requirements are likely to influence how other decentralized finance platforms offering commodity-linked derivatives operate.