Hyperliquid Strategies, a Nasdaq-listed firm built around holding HYPE tokens, used its quarterly earnings release on Thursday to reveal a second ambition alongside its heavy token buying. One of its subsidiaries has applied for registration as a futures commission merchant, or FCM. Approval would let Hyperliquid-based perpetual futures reach American traders through a regulated channel.
An FCM is a registered intermediary. In this case, the subsidiary would look after US customer accounts tied to permissioned markets on Hyperliquid, an upgrade still in the planning stage.
Chief executive David Schamis said,“Owning HYPE is how we aim to capture economics associated with the Hyperliquid protocol; setting up an FCM is how we intend to help bring markets deployed on Hyperliquid onshore,” said Hyperliquid Strategies CEO David Schamis in the company’s results for the quarter ended Sept. 30, published on Thursday.
Under the existing HIP-3 design, independent operators can create custom perpetual futures markets on the protocol’s onchain infrastructure once they stake 500,000 HYPE tokens, currently worth $38.8 million. The proposed features would let those operators limit participation to approved addresses.
Operators would run their own trading venues, and the subsidiary would sit alongside them to manage customer accounts in a regulated structure. “Subject to regulatory approval, the FCM would carry US client accounts for permissioned markets deployed on Hyperliquid under HIP-3, allowing HSI [Hyperliquid Strategy] to play a role in bringing perpetual futures to U.S. customers within a regulated framework,” the company said.
Both the FCM application and the proposed markets await regulators’ decisions, and the company gave no timeline for HIP-3 approval. It also gave no date for when its subsidiary might be registered or start serving clients. A green light for the FCM would still leave each proposed perpetual futures market needing its own clearance.
On October 29, Intercontinental Exchange, the parent of the New York Stock Exchange, announced a deal to offer Hyperliquid-based perpetual markets in the US, also subject to approvals. ICE plans a dedicated market and clearing structure for the products.
Meanwhile, equity raised during the quarter totaled $911 million. Of that sum, $785 million bought 9.1 million HYPE, and $17 million went toward repurchasing 2.7 million PURR shares. By September 30 the company held 38.5 million HYPE, which carried a value of $3.5 billion at the time. Schamis credited the protocol’s revenue model for the appeal.
