Source published November 7, 2026, at 03:46:03 UTC+08:00.
Hyperliquid Strategies built its business around holding HYPE tokens. In quarterly results disclosed Thursday, the Nasdaq-listed firm said a subsidiary had applied to become a futures commission merchant (FCM)—a broker registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission that holds customer funds and handles futures orders.
If approved, the subsidiary would carry U.S. customer accounts for permissioned markets built on Hyperliquid. That would give the company an operating business beyond holding tokens and could create a regulated route for Americans to trade perpetual futures on the infrastructure. Hyperliquid currently blocks U.S. users.
Where HYPE fits into the proposed markets
Perpetual futures are derivatives without an expiration date that allow traders to take leveraged positions. Hyperliquid is a major onchain venue for these products, but the network, its HYPE token and a regulated brokerage each serve different roles.
Under Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 framework, outside firms can launch perpetual markets on its order book after staking HYPE. A proposed permissioned version, HIP-3*, would allow a regulated operator to run markets limited to approved traders, while Hyperliquid provides neutral infrastructure.
In this setup, HYPE has a role in market deployment through staking. Holding the token alone would not make someone an approved trader in a permissioned market or remove the need for regulatory approval.
There is also a connection between trading activity and the token: Hyperliquid uses protocol fee revenue to buy back HYPE. More U.S. trading routed through the platform would likely generate more protocol fees, though the proposed markets and brokerage are not yet approved.
A large token treasury—and a proposed business alongside it
Hyperliquid Strategies trades on Nasdaq under PURR and is chaired by former Barclays CEO Bob Diamond. At the end of September, it held about 38.5 million HYPE, worth roughly $3.5 billion.
“We deployed $802 million this quarter and filed an application to become a futures commission merchant,” CEO David Schamis said. “Those two moves are the same bet.”
During the quarter, the company:
- Spent $785 million buying 9.1 million HYPE.
- Spent $17 million repurchasing 2.7 million of its own shares.
- Raised $911 million through stock sales, which largely funded those purchases.
- Reported $620.6 million in net income, driven almost entirely by $803 million in unrealized gains as HYPE rose from about $65 to $91.
The distinction matters: buying HYPE added tokens to the company’s treasury, while repurchasing PURR shares involved its own stock. The reported unrealized gains reflected the rise in HYPE’s value, rather than gains realized through a sale.
Other firms are pursuing regulated access
Kraken parent Payward has said it plans to deploy HIP-3* markets through its CFTC-regulated Bitnomial exchange, with NinjaTrader Clearing serving as the FCM.
In the week before the report, New York Stock Exchange owner Intercontinental Exchange agreed to team up with Trade[XYZ] to bring Hyperliquid-based perpetual futures to the United States. HYPE rose 13% on that news. Trade[XYZ] already operates Hyperliquid markets, including perpetual futures tied to the S&P 500.
For Hyperliquid Strategies, two regulatory steps remain: approval of the FCM registration and approval of the permissioned HIP-3 markets it would serve. The company has provided no timeline.