ICE and Trade[XYZ] Plan US-Regulated Hyperliquid Perpetual Futures

Hyperliquid's HYPE token climbed roughly 20% on Thursday, trading above $96 and closing in on its September all-time high of $97.96, according to CoinGecko. The move followed Intercontinental Exchange's announcement that it plans to launch US perpetual futures with Trade[XYZ], a startup backed by billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller.

ICE, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, and Trade[XYZ] said Thursday they would seek regulatory approval for perpetual futures markets covering cryptocurrencies, stocks, indexes, commodities and currencies. The proposed market would target retail traders. Perpetual futures let traders hold positions on asset prices with no expiration date, and Hyperliquid ranks as the world's largest decentralized exchange for such instruments, according to DefiLlama data.

How would the market be structured?

ICE said the new venture would operate separately from its institutional futures business, with a dedicated clearing structure. More than 99% of participation in ICE's existing markets is institutional, and the separate clearing setup is intended to shield those customers from retail counterparty risks.

Customers would go through identity and Anti-Money-Laundering checks and trade through participating futures brokers. Distribution is expected through ICE's joint venture with OKX, pending separate approvals. ICE invested in OKX at a $25 billion valuation in March.

The deal also gives ICE a fresh route into retail trading, while US retail traders would gain a regulated path to Hyperliquid-based perpetual futures. ICE is taking a minority stake in Trade[XYZ] but disclosed neither the investment amount nor a launch date. Cointelegraph reached out to both companies for comment and had received no response by publication.

What does this change for regulation?

The political backdrop matters here. President Donald Trump said on Aug. 19 that CFTC Chair Michael Selig was working to bring Hyperliquid into the United States in a "fully compliant and legal fashion."

Druckenmiller made his position public on X: "I am excited to be an investor in trade(xyz)." He added that he looked forward to using its products. Elon Musk amplified the post with a one-word comment: "Interesting."

The regulatory opening remains conditional. The CFTC approved Kalshi's Bitcoin perpetual contract in May, but the agency said perpetuals referencing other asset classes should receive case-by-case review. That leaves the proposed multi-asset scope far from guaranteed.

Where does the OKX venture fit in?

ICE's separate tokenized stock venture with OKX faces friction of its own. Its Oct. 28 notice disclosed objections from 38 companies, up from 26 reported by Cointelegraph on Oct. 27. New objectors include Walmart, Eli Lilly, Carnival, Arcos Dorados and Cigna.

Those objections concern tokenized shares, not perpetual futures. The Trade[XYZ] proposal involves a different product and remains subject to separate regulatory approvals.

There is also competitive pressure on Hyperliquid itself. Analysts including Alice Liu have flagged the risk that Binance could take revenue from the platform, a dynamic that could weigh on HYPE regardless of the ICE deal's fate.

For now, everything hinges on the CFTC. Case-by-case review means each asset class in the proposed market — crypto, stocks, indexes, commodities and currencies — could face its own timeline, and ICE has committed to no launch date until that process runs its course.