Hyperliquid Policy Center urges SEC and CFTC to align perpetual rules

The Hyperliquid Policy Center is urging the SEC and CFTC to adopt a harmonized framework for perpetual contracts as regulators consider how the products should be classified under US derivatives law.

In a comment filed with the agencies, HPC argued that equity perpetual contracts with the traditional characteristics of futures should be eligible to trade as security futures.

Under US law, derivatives are generally divided between futures and swaps, with different rules governing how they reach the market, who can trade them, and which venues can list them.

Perpetual contracts complicate that distinction because they share several characteristics associated with futures, including standardized terms, fungibility, futurity, and the ability to exit by taking the opposite position.

Unlike traditional futures, perpetuals do not have a fixed expiry date. HPC argued that this should not determine their classification because funding payments serve a similar function by keeping contract prices aligned with the underlying market.

The CFTC approved the first US listed perpetual contracts in May, allowing them to trade as futures. The agency later said equity perpetuals could warrant review by both the CFTC and SEC.

The regulators subsequently sought feedback on how existing definitions of swaps, security based swaps, futures, and security futures should apply to newer products, including cash settled equity perpetuals.

HPC said classification should depend on a contract’s structure and trading characteristics rather than the asset it references.

Under that approach, contracts with similar characteristics would receive the same initial classification whether they reference Bitcoin, crude oil, an equity index, or an individual stock. The underlying asset would instead determine regulatory jurisdiction and additional safeguards.

HPC argued that qualifying equity perpetuals can fit within the existing security futures framework, which is jointly overseen by the SEC and CFTC.

The group said this could allow securities and futures exchanges to compete for perpetual products while reducing jurisdictional disputes that have historically delayed new derivatives.

HPC asked regulators to confirm that qualifying equity perpetuals can be listed as security futures, preserve exchanges’ flexibility in listing decisions, apply consistent classification standards, and modernize the security futures framework.

The group said regulators could provide clarity through interpretive guidance, policy statements, and staff action without waiting for formal rulemaking.

HPC also argued that clearer rules could help bring more perpetual trading into regulated US markets.

It cited more than $480 billion in volume across Hyperliquid perpetual markets over the past ten months, including contracts tied to oil, metals, currencies, equity indices, and individual stocks.

CFTC Chairman Michael Selig has previously said the central question is not whether perpetual markets will exist, but whether they will operate under American oversight and standards.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Estefano Gomez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.