Key facts
- President Trump announced the CFTC is working to bring Hyperliquid, a decentralized perpetual futures exchange, into the U.S.
- The news led to a 23% surge in HYPE token price to $72.
- The broader crypto market saw significant gains, with Bitcoin reaching $72,000 and Ethereum $2,300.
- Hyperliquid is an offshore venue for leveraged perpetual futures trading that is not legally accessible to Americans.
- Coinbase added perpetual futures to its Base App via Hyperliquid, offering access to over 290 markets.
- Bitcoin ETFs experienced $517 million in net inflows on Wednesday.
President Donald Trump announced that CFTC Chair Michael Selig is working to bring Hyperliquid, an offshore decentralized perpetual futures exchange, into the United States in a compliant manner. This statement, made during a meeting with crypto industry leaders at the White House, significantly boosted market sentiment.
The news immediately impacted token prices, with Hyperliquid's native token, HYPE, surging 23% to a peak of $72. Other perpetual futures platforms, such as LIT, also saw gains of around 20%. The broader cryptocurrency market followed suit, with Bitcoin climbing to $72,000 and Ethereum reaching over $2,300, marking a substantial recovery.
Hyperliquid operates as a venue where traders can access leveraged perpetual futures contracts by connecting a crypto wallet, bypassing traditional brokerage account requirements. This design has kept it and similar platforms offshore due to U.S. derivatives regulations concerning registration, customer protection, and market oversight. The CFTC has been gradually clearing pathways for such products, having previously approved Coinbase Derivatives for Bitcoin and Ethereum futures and Kalshi for a similar contract.
In addition to the Hyperliquid announcement, President Trump urged Congress to pass the Clarity Act, a market structure bill aimed at defining regulatory authority over digital assets between the SEC and CFTC. This push comes as the SEC has proposed its first formal crypto rules, and the Clarity Act faces procedural hurdles in the Senate.
Coinbase further integrated Hyperliquid by adding its perpetual futures to the Base app, offering eligible users access to over 290 markets with up to 50x leverage, though not in the U.S., U.K., or Canada. The company also launched a $1 million accelerator program for pre-seed teams building AI agents, payments, trading, and financing products on Base.
Bitcoin ETFs experienced substantial inflows, with $517 million on Wednesday, the highest since May, and over $1 billion for the week. The overall crypto market saw over $3 billion in short liquidations in the preceding 24 hours.