Hyperliquid founder Jeff Yan is calling for a regulatory framework in the United States that would place compliance responsibilities on financial companies using the blockchain rather than regulating the underlying network itself.
Speaking in a Bloomberg interview on Thursday, October 15, Yan argued that businesses operating trading platforms on Hyperliquid should be accountable for meeting U.S. financial regulations. He compared the proposed approach to traditional financial institutions operating through internet infrastructure without requiring the internet itself to function as a regulated exchange.
According to Yan, regulatory oversight should focus on entities that control trading activities, particularly companies deploying financial products and services on decentralized blockchain networks.
“The regulation sits at the layer where there are controls, and indeed the deployers are the ones that exercise these controls,” Yan explained.
Hyperliquid has gained recognition as a decentralized trading platform specializing in perpetual futures contracts, allowing cryptocurrency traders to speculate on digital asset prices. However, its primary perpetual futures market remains inaccessible to U.S. customers because of regulatory restrictions.
Despite these limitations, traditional financial institutions are exploring opportunities to integrate Hyperliquid's blockchain technology into regulated trading operations.
Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, plans to introduce on-chain perpetual futures products to U.S. investors through a regulated exchange using Hyperliquid's infrastructure.
The initiative could bring a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)-regulated operator onto the Hyperliquid network without requiring its existing decentralized perpetual futures platform to open directly to American traders.
Yan believes this regulatory structure could encourage Wall Street institutions and established financial companies to develop blockchain-based trading services while maintaining compliance with federal requirements.
“We’re not trying to displace anything,” Yan said. “In fact, I think the technology can benefit everyone who currently operates markets in a more traditional setting.”
His remarks follow comments from U.S. President Donald Trump in August indicating that the CFTC was working toward bringing Hyperliquid into the American market under federal regulations.
The proposal highlights an emerging debate over how U.S. cryptocurrency regulations should distinguish between decentralized blockchain infrastructure and financial businesses operating on those networks.
If regulators adopt this approach, Hyperliquid could attract greater institutional participation while allowing regulated companies to offer blockchain-powered derivatives products to U.S. investors.
