ICE Plans US Regulated Perpetual Futures Market on Hyperliquid
MissedBlock Desk · · 3 min read
Updated
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) has announced plans to establish a regulated perpetual futures market in the United States, leveraging the Hyperliquid platform and partnering with Trade.XYZ. This development, reported on October 29, marks a significant expansion of ICE’s derivatives offerings into a new market segment.
Trade.XYZ, currently a provider of Real-World Asset (RWA) perpetual contracts on Hyperliquid, will be integrated into ICE’s planned US market. ICE will operate this regulated market exclusively. As part of this strategic initiative, ICE is also making a strategic investment in Trade.XYZ, acquiring a minority stake. The launch of this new market is subject to regulatory considerations.
According to ICE’s press release, ICE’s chairman and CEO, Jeffrey Sprecher, stated that these perpetual markets are viewed as a supplement, not a replacement, to existing futures markets. This announcement follows previous discussions ICE has had regarding Hyperliquid, as mentioned by Sprecher in May.
The news has notably impacted the HYPE token, the native token of the Hyperliquid platform. Shortly after the announcement, the HYPE token price saw an approximate 10% increase, reaching $87.303. Over the 24 hours following the announcement, HYPE experienced a 5.73% rise, contrasting with declines in Bitcoin (down 1.54%) and Ethereum (down 1.73%).
Trading activity for HYPE perpetual contracts also surged. Within 15 minutes of the news, trading volume increased by approximately 146 times. Furthermore, within half an hour of the announcement, 12 large whale accounts reportedly opened or rebuilt significant positions. Long positions were 3.64 times the size of short positions, totaling $29.3173 million in long positions versus $8.0435 million in short positions.
The current open interest for HYPE perpetual contracts stands at approximately 21.745 million tokens, valued at $1.873 billion. The funding rate for HYPE perpetual contracts is currently around 0.0032% per hour, which annualizes to approximately 28%. This is notably higher than the funding rates for Bitcoin and Ethereum perpetual contracts, which are around 0.00125% per hour (annualized ~11%). This higher funding rate for HYPE suggests increased demand from long-position holders.
Trade.XYZ currently operates a platform that allows non-US qualified users to trade various contracts, including stocks, indices, commodities, and forex. The planned US market is expected to require Know Your Customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering verification, targeting retail investors. This contrasts with ICE’s existing participant base, which is over 99% institutional.
ICE’s involvement in the digital asset space includes a joint venture with OKX, which is also seeking US broker-dealer and futures commission merchant qualifications. The company has previously noted HYPE reaching a high of $95.339 on October 5, with a closing price of $76.222 on October 25, prior to the recent announcement.
Key uncertainties remain regarding the exact launch date of the new market and the specific timeline for obtaining regulatory considerations. The precise amount of ICE’s strategic investment in Trade.XYZ has also not been disclosed. The long-term impact of this partnership on the RWA and perpetual futures markets is yet to be determined.
Why This Matters
The materials describe a narrow update: ICE has signed an agreement with Trade. The exact launch date for the new regulated perpetual futures market.
Broader Context
Source materials place the factual news in this context: ICE is the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange.