Grayscale Sees US Opportunity for Hyperliquid in Kraken Parent Plan

A US Market Could Expand Hyperliquid’s Reach

Hyperliquid could gain access to U.S. futures traders under a plan from Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken. In a Sept. 21 analysis, Grayscale Head of Research Zach Pandl identified the proposal as a possible source of trading activity and protocol fees for the blockchain-based derivatives venue. Payward disclosed the plan on Sept. 16.

The proposal would start with Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 markets, which Payward described as the protocol’s first builder-deployed permissioned perpetual markets. Grayscale noted the preliminary markets are live on testnet. Perpetual futures are contracts that track an asset’s price without a fixed expiration date. Payward already offers U.S. customers perpetual futures through a separate arrangement; its Hyperliquid plan would add an onchain venue if approved.

“In our view, a U.S. venue could strengthen this flywheel if it runs on Hyperliquid infrastructure and pays protocol fees,” Pandl wrote. That condition is central to Grayscale’s assessment. A U.S. market could bring more traders to Hyperliquid, but additional activity would benefit its fee-based token purchase mechanism only if the proposed markets generate fees for the protocol. Grayscale described the possible effect on $HYPE as an investment view, not a confirmed outcome.