Hyperliquid Policy Center urges SEC and CFTC to unify perpetual rules

The Hyperliquid Policy Center (HPC) has submitted a formal request to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) urging the creation of a unified regulatory framework for perpetual contracts.

HPC argues that these derivatives, which lack a fixed expiration date and use funding payments to maintain price alignment, should be classified based on their economic structure and trading characteristics rather than the underlying asset they reference. Under this proposal, cash-settled equity perpetuals with traditional futures characteristics could be classified as security futures, a category jointly overseen by both agencies.

The push for clarity comes as the perpetuals market grows significantly; Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 markets reportedly generated over $480 billion in trading volume over a ten-month period. The group suggests that regulators can provide this clarity through interpretive guidance or policy statements without the need for formal rulemaking, potentially reducing legal uncertainty and jurisdictional disputes between the SEC and CFTC.