Author: Payward

Translation: Deep Tide TechFlow

Deep Tide Introduction: Payward, the parent company of Kraken, announced the deployment of a perpetual contract market on Hyperliquid through a regulated entity, marking the first time a registered exchange in the United States holds market management rights on an on-chain perpetual protocol. For American users who have been unable to compliantly participate in on-chain perpetual trading, this means the selection of products has been thoroughly opened up, providing substantial samples for Hyperliquid's compliance pathway.

Payward plans to bring on-chain perpetual futures to American clients, with the first stop being Hyperliquid

Payward's open financial infrastructure will provide American clients with a wider range of on-chain perpetual contract options: this product has been traded for many years in other parts of the world.

Cheyenne, Wyoming, September 16, 2026: Kraken's parent company, Payward, today announced plans to deploy an on-chain perpetual futures market for American clients, starting with Hyperliquid’s HIP-3* market (the first batch of this protocol was deployed as a licensed perpetual market by builders).

Since 2011, Payward has operated open financial infrastructure for clients in over 190 countries and regions. As of June 30, 2026, the company had 6.6 million funded accounts, and an independent third-party accountant's report showed a customer asset coverage rate of over 100%.

"Multiple trading venues have been operating builder-deployed perpetual contracts on Hyperliquid. One of them holds 98% of the open contracts, but no registered exchanges or clearinghouses in the United States have deployed a market. Payward plans to be the first (to hold the key and take on regulatory obligations). Our open infrastructure serves clients in over 190 countries and regions and supports the next protocols, regions, and products. We have already launched our own U.S. perpetual contracts and plan to deploy on Hyperliquid, putting customers first rather than ourselves," said Arjun Sethi, Co-CEO of Payward.

These markets will operate on Hyperliquid's public blockchain, with its on-chain order book responsible for matchmaking and recording transactions. Payward's exchange and clearinghouse, Bitnomial, regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), will serve as the deployer for HIP-3*: responsible for creating, owning, and managing the market and clearing and settling the contracts. Payward’s CFTC-registered futures commission merchant, NinjaTrader Clearing, will host client accounts. The aforementioned entities will undertake corresponding regulatory obligations. Only accounts opened through NinjaTrader and simultaneously included on the NinjaTrader and Bitnomial allowed list can participate in trading.

"American clients will open futures accounts with Payward's registered broker and trade new perpetual futures contracts on Hyperliquid, cleared by the same clearinghouse that currently supports the crypto perpetual contracts provided to American clients by Payward," said Jon Pham, Head of U.S. Derivatives at Payward.

"Since its inception, Hyperliquid has continually pushed the boundaries of on-chain finance. This latest milestone indicates that decentralized infrastructure can adapt to regulated markets and find ways to distribute innovative and compliant products to global users," said Calvin Leyon, Head of On-Chain Business at Kraken. "Payward is pioneering a framework on Hyperliquid that we believe can be replicated in global products and markets. By combining Hyperliquid's cutting-edge protocol with Payward's infrastructure, liquidity, and regulatory system, we plan to provide best-in-class on-chain products to U.S. market users."

Perpetual futures began trading outside the United States in 2016; according to CoinGecko's 2026 "State of Crypto Perpetual Contracts Report," global trading volume exceeded $85 trillion in 2025 alone. For most of the past decade, no American trading venues offered this product. Since its launch in 2023, Hyperliquid has become the best-in-class on-chain product: CoinGecko rated it the most active on-chain perpetual contract trading venue of 2025, processing over $200 billion in transaction volume in the past 30 days according to DefiLlama data. Allowing American clients access to the world’s best products (regardless of who builds those products) will expand the choices available and strengthen competition, ensuring that the United States does not fall behind.

Hyperliquid is the first protocol Payward plans to deploy for American clients. Partners are already running their products on Payward Services, and more products will be launched through the same open infrastructure in the future. The goal is to make DeFi products more accessible within the established regulatory framework, expanding participation channels for everyone.

The Payward entities supporting on-chain perpetual contracts for the United States include: Bitnomial Exchange, LLC (designated contract market regulated by the CFTC); Bitnomial Clearinghouse, LLC (derivatives clearing organization registered with the CFTC); and NinjaTrader Clearing, LLC (futures commission merchant registered with the CFTC and member of the National Futures Association NFA).

Subject to regulatory approval, on-chain perpetual futures will be traded according to the rules of Bitnomial Exchange, LLC.

About Payward

Payward, Inc. is a unified financial infrastructure platform that supports a range of products, promoting the development of an open, global financial system. Payward is built on a single shared architecture, allowing clients to hold, trade, earn, pay, and invest across asset classes without facing friction or fragmentation in experience.

At its core, Payward provides the infrastructure layer for Kraken and a growing range of specialized products, including NinjaTrader, Breakout, xStocks, and CF Benchmarks.

Payward separates infrastructure from product forms. Each product interface is designed for specific client groups, regulatory regimes, and application scenarios, while operating on the same global foundation:

• A global liquidity pool
• A unified risk and margin engine
• A collateral and settlement system
• A compliance and licensing framework

This shared architecture enables Payward to scale efficiently, launching new products at lower marginal costs, serving a diversified global market while maintaining consistent risk management, regulatory compliance, and operational resilience.