ICE Partners with Trade.xyz to Launch Hyperliquid-Based Perpetual Futures Market in the U.S.
nashnova research
ICE, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, is partnering with Trade.xyz to build a regulated perpetual futures market in the U.S. on the Hyperliquid blockchain — a move that would bring the largest crypto derivatives category from the offshore gray zone into the American regulatory perimeter.
What exactly is this deal building?
ICE and Trade.xyz plan to launch a perpetual futures exchange in the U.S., running on the Hyperliquid blockchain with standalone clearing, KYC, and anti-money-laundering systems.
Perpetual futures — leveraged contracts with no expiry date that let traders bet on price moves without owning the asset — have surged in popularity among retail investors. Hyperliquid is already one of the world's largest perp venues.
The catch: both Hyperliquid and Trade.xyz currently block U.S. users, and the entire plan still requires regulatory approval.
What did ICE put in, and what does it get?
ICE has taken an equity stake in Trade.xyz, though neither side disclosed terms.
Trade.xyz's product scope is broad: perpetual futures tied to equities, equity indices, commodities, and currencies — not just crypto.
This means → ICE is not simply "investing in a crypto startup." It is betting that perpetual futures as a product form can enter the U.S. mainstream financial system.
What signal is the U.S. regulator sending?
CFTC Chair Michael Selig has already outlined the conditions for regulated platforms to offer perpetual futures.
A CFTC spokesperson said last month: "The CFTC sees on-chain finance as an important part of next-generation finance and wants it to thrive legally and compliantly in the U.S."
In plain terms = the regulator has shifted from "can this be done at all?" to "how do we do it within the rules?" — a clear inflection in tone.
Who is already in the race?
Kalshi (a prediction-market platform) and Coinbase have already listed perpetual futures on U.S. regulated venues; Kalshi was approved last month for gold- and silver-linked perps.
Kraken's parent Payward announced in September it plans to offer perpetual futures to U.S. clients via Hyperliquid, also pending approval.
This reflects a broader "compliance race" around Hyperliquid — and ICE is by far the largest and most heavily licensed traditional finance player to enter it.
What is the strategic logic for each side?
For ICE: pull trading volume that has been outside regulated infrastructure into its own ecosystem, while reaching a new base of retail investors.
For Trade.xyz: ICE's status as an exchange operator regulated by both the CFTC and the SEC is the key to U.S. market access — a ticket a crypto-native firm almost certainly cannot obtain alone.
This means → the ultimate test is singular: whether perpetual futures can scale within the U.S. regulatory framework. That alone determines the deal's value.
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