Jeff Yan Wants the CFTC to Crack Down on Hyperliquid Deployers
Yan wants the CFTC to oversee the parties trading on Hyperliquid, not the blockchain itself. The debate also touches on Kraken’s plans for regulated derivatives in the U.S.
Key Takeaways
- Hyperliquid founder Jeff Yan wants regulators to focus on the companies trading on his blockchain, not the network itself.
- According to Yan, the rules should apply at the level where control sits, namely with the deployers of trading markets.
- Kraken parent company Payward wants to offer derivatives in the U.S. through Hyperliquid technology via a regulated exchange.
Hyperliquid founder Jeff Yan wants U.S. regulators to focus on the financial companies trading on his blockchain, not the network itself. In his view, the parties running trading markets on Hyperliquid should have to follow the rules themselves, just like financial companies using internet infrastructure.
Focus on the Deployers
Yan said Thursday in an interview with Bloomberg that the rules should sit at the level where control exists. According to him, it is the deployers who exercise that control, not the blockchain as the underlying layer.
Hyperliquid is best known for its own perpetual futures platform. That platform remains closed to customers in the United States, but the debate around regulation does directly raise the question of how U.S. parties can use the technology.
Kraken and CFTC Oversight
The plans from Kraken parent company Payward make that concrete. The company wants to offer U.S. investors derivatives through Hyperliquid technology, but through a regulated exchange. For Hyperliquid, that would mean a CFTC-regulated operator could be added, while the perps market itself would still not be available to U.S. customers.
Yan also said Hyperliquid is not trying to push out existing players. In his view, the technology could actually be useful for companies that still run markets in a more traditional way.
Why This Matters
Yan’s comments line up with a broader shift in the U.S., where regulators have long been looking for rules for crypto assets and derivatives. In March 2026, the CFTC also issued guidance on using crypto as collateral in derivatives markets, under conditions for Futures Commission Merchants. That makes the question of who exactly falls under oversight even more relevant for parties that want to work with crypto infrastructure and regulated trading.
President Donald Trump said in August that the CFTC was working on a way to bring Hyperliquid under federal rules in the U.S.
