Hyperliquid Policy Center, TradeXYZ urge CFTC to create path for US oil perpetuals

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission should adopt a regulatory framework for energy perpetual contracts to bring the products to the U.S., the Hyperliquid Policy Center and perpetuals trading platform TradeXYZ said in a letter on Wednesday.

The Hyperliquid Policy Center and TradeXYZ pointed to disruptions in global supply chains in the Middle East earlier this year after the United States and Israel conducted missile strikes on Iran, which triggered supply shocks. That happened over the weekend, so traditional oil futures markets were closed, but platforms like Hyperliquid operate 24/7, so much of the trading happened onchain.

"When another crisis breaks on a Saturday night, American businesses should not have to wait until Sunday evening to manage their risk," HPC said.

Hyperliquid has become popular among crypto derivatives traders and came into the spotlight last week at the White House when President Donald Trump said that CFTC Chair Michael Selig was working to bring the perpetual trading platform Hyperliquid into the U.S. in a "fully compliant and legal fashion."

Perpetuals, or perps, are a type of futures contract that don't have an expiration date and allow people to bet on the price movement of assets without owning them directly. Much of that activity is currently happening on offshore exchanges, so are not regulated in the U.S.

Perps in the US

The CFTC first opened the door for bitcoin perpetual futures contracts in the U.S. when its staff greenlit KalshiEX and Coinbase to list the products. Then in June, the CFTC released a request for comment on crude oil perpetual contracts and 24/7 trading.

Earlier this week, the HPC wrote a letter to the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission asking both agencies to adopt a harmonized framework for perpetual contracts.

In addressing that request for comment, HPC and TradeXYZ said perpetual futures are not meant to replace dated futures, and asked the CFTC to "open a regulated path for it alongside the dated benchmark."

Specifically, they asked for a framework that would be "technology neutral" and based on principles, as well as for the CFTC to clarify what a business day means in terms of timing requirements.

"HPC is focused on ensuring that U.S. market participants can access onchain perpetual contract markets under American oversight, and we will continue engaging with the Commission and its staff to that end," the center said in a post on X.