HYPE Token Surges to Record as CFTC Clears Path for Perpetuals

The HYPE token touched approximately $67.24 on May 29, extending a rally that had already surpassed its previous high near $64 earlier in the week. The surge followed the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s approval of KalshiEX’s BTCPERP contract, marking the first US-regulated bitcoin perpetual futures product tied to the spot price of bitcoin. Although Hyperliquid was not part of the CFTC order, the decision provides a clearer regulatory path for perpetual futures, a market largely dominated by offshore venues where Hyperliquid is the benchmark decentralized exchange.

Grayscale reported that Hyperliquid processed approximately $2.9 trillion in perpetual volume in 2025, held roughly $7 billion in open interest, and generated around $800 million in fees. The asset manager has also filed for a spot Hyperliquid ETF under the ticker GHYP, positioning the token closer to the regulated-wrapper conversation that has expanded access to bitcoin and ether.

Intercontinental Exchange CEO Jeff Sprecher recently described Hyperliquid as “bigger than Nasdaq,” highlighting growing traditional finance interest in the protocol’s ability to scale onchain derivatives while maintaining crypto-native execution and self-custody. The comment from the company behind the New York Stock Exchange underscores the shifting perspective on offshore perpetuals activity.

The protocol’s scale has made it a test case for whether onchain derivatives can match the throughput of centralized exchanges without sacrificing transparency. Hyperliquid is currently trading at $66.84 US per digital token, with the broader market context including a US-China summit in Beijing involving trade, AI, and Iran tensions, during which US stock markets rose.

The CFTC approval leaves the specific impact on Hyperliquid’s future regulatory status unclear, as the protocol was not part of the order. However, the long-term viability of Hyperliquid as a scalable onchain derivative platform remains unproven, despite current metrics. The approval of the Grayscale Hyperliquid ETF is also pending and subject to regulatory review.