Trump commented on the matter on August 19 during a meeting at the White House with executives from cryptocurrency, technology, and financial companies, specifically highlighting the work of Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Michael Selig on the Hyperliquid project.
"As I understand it, Mike is also working on bringing Hyperliquid to the U.S. market in full compliance with all requirements and within the law. He's working very hard on this," Trump noted, referring to Selig. Present in the room were Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Paul Atkins, as well as executives from Kraken, Gemini, Cboe, and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE).
Traders didn't waste any time. Hyperliquid's native crypto asset — $HYPE — jumped approximately 20-25% within 24 hours, trading in the range of $70 to $73, bringing its market capitalization close to $18 billion. Trading volume exceeded $1.3 billion, bringing the token within striking distance of new all-time highs. The last all-time high for $HYPE was recorded on June 16, 2026, when its price exceeded $76 per unit. Today, $HYPE ranks ninth by market capitalization among tokens.
However, behind the flashy headline were finer details. Trump did not announce any regulatory approval, CFTC registration, or a timeline for Hyperliquid's entry into the U.S. market. Hyperliquid's main interface still blocks users from the U.S., so traders are assessing the likelihood of a regulatory breakthrough, not a finalized deal.
Why Hyperliquid Continues to Attract Traders
Hyperliquid is a blockchain developed primarily for trading, especially perpetual futures. These contracts allow traders to bet on an asset's price without an expiry date, making them one of the most sought-after instruments in the crypto markets.
Unlike many decentralized exchanges, Hyperliquid maintains its order book on-chain. Buyers and sellers place orders that are matched directly through the blockchain, with trades, cancellations, and liquidations remaining publicly visible. This architecture aims for the speed of centralized exchanges while maintaining the transparency and self-custody characteristic of decentralized finance (DeFi).
The numbers explain the interest. At various times, Hyperliquid has accounted for between 40% to over 70% of decentralized perpetual futures trading volume, with all-time cumulative trading volume reaching trillions of dollars. Open interest — the value of outstanding derivative positions — has previously exceeded $11 billion.
$HYPE Turns Trading Activity into a Token Bet
$HYPE is directly at the center of the network's economic mechanism. Launched via an airdrop on November 29, 2024, the token governs staking, governance, and activity within Hyperliquid's Ethereum-compatible smart contract environment. Approximately 31% of the maximum supply of 1 billion tokens was initially distributed to early users.
Hyperliquid also directs the majority of the protocol's trading fees to a Backstop Fund, which purchases $HYPE tokens on the open market for accumulation or burning. This structure turns trading activity into constant demand for the tokens, giving traders a significant reason to track the platform's revenues and volumes when determining the price of $HYPE.
Yesterday's remarks from Trump on cryptocurrency and Bitcoin provided another catalyst: access to the world's largest capital market. A U.S.-compliant operation could potentially open Hyperliquid to institutional traders and clients who currently do not have access to its main interface.
Trading activity quickly spread beyond $HYPE. Shares of Hyperliquid Strategies, a Nasdaq-listed company built around owning $HYPE tokens, jumped, according to market data, by 30-31%. Shares of traditional derivatives operators moved in the opposite direction: shares of Cboe Global Markets and CME Group fell as markets assessed whether a regulated on-chain competitor could eventually threaten established venues.
Now Comes the Regulatory 'Minefield'
Bringing Hyperliquid to the U.S. market requires much more than political backing. Regulators still need to address issues of asset custody, leverage, market oversight, client protection, and determine how well Hyperliquid's blockchain-based order book fits rules originally designed for traditional financial intermediaries.
This makes $HYPE's recent rally hostage to what follows Trump's endorsement. Traders will now watch Selig, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and its Innovation Advisory Committee for a concrete proposal, registration process, or regulatory framework. Until then, Hyperliquid possesses something potentially powerful, but far from final: a signal from the White House that Washington wants to find a legal path for the platform to enter the U.S.
end-content
