Hyperliquid Strategies Files to Become a US Futures Broker for Perp Trading

Hyperliquid Strategies is making its play for regulated US perpetuals. The Nasdaq-listed company (NASDAQ: PURR) said Thursday that one of its subsidiaries has filed an application to become a futures commission merchant, or FCM — the license needed to hold and carry US client accounts for trading. The goal: bring Hyperliquid's perpetual futures to American customers inside a regulated wrapper, according to Crypto Briefing's report of the announcement.

The filing rides on HIP-3*, Hyperliquid's upcoming infrastructure expansion that lets independent operators spin up markets with restricted access. Deployers would manage who gets in through onchain allowlists, while Hyperliquid stays the underlying engine — and existing permissionless markets stay untouched. Hyperliquid Strategies says the application still needs regulatory sign-off, and there's no guarantee on timing or outcome.

CEO David Schamis framed the move as part of a wider push to squeeze value out of the Hyperliquid ecosystem through HYPE ownership and by widening access to its trading rails. The company wouldn't be first through the door: Kraken parent Payward has said it plans to become the first CFTC-regulated deployer under HIP-3*, with Bitnomial expected to run and clear the perpetual futures markets and NinjaTrader Clearing serving as the FCM for customer accounts, all pending approval. Hyperliquid Strategies wants its own subsidiary doing that account-carrying job.

The filing dropped alongside quarterly earnings, and the numbers are loud. The company deployed $802 million in the three months ending September 30, including $785 million to buy 9.1 million HYPE tokens. Its treasury climbed from 29.3 million HYPE at the end of June to 38.5 million by September 30. As of October 28, it held roughly 38.9 million HYPE at a blended acquisition cost of $56.35 per token, plus $245.3 million in cash and cash equivalents.

The quarter also booked $620.6 million in net income, largely driven by $803 million in unrealized gains on those HYPE holdings, along with $12.3 million in staking revenue and validator commissions. The timing was rough, though. Thursday's broad selloff hammered crypto and traditional markets alike, with Bitcoin trading below $76,000 — down nearly 6% in 24 hours — while HYPE slid about 7% to around $78.