HYPE rises as ICE and Trade[XYZ] plan US perpetual futures market

Hyperliquid’s HYPE token climbed sharply after Intercontinental Exchange, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, announced plans with Trade[XYZ] to develop a US perpetual-futures market aimed at retail traders.

According to Cointelegraph, HYPE was trading above $96 on Thursday, up about 20% over 24 hours and close to its September all-time high of $97.96. The proposed market would cover cryptocurrencies as well as stocks, indexes, commodities and currencies, although it cannot launch without regulatory approval.

ICE and Trade[XYZ target retail traders

Perpetual futures are derivatives that allow traders to take positions on the price of an asset without a fixed expiration date. They are a major part of activity on Hyperliquid, a decentralized exchange that DefiLlama identifies as the world’s largest venue for trading these instruments.

ICE and Trade[XYZ] said they intend to seek approval for a US market offering perpetual futures across several asset classes. The plan would provide US retail customers with a regulated way to access products linked to the Hyperliquid ecosystem, while giving ICE a new presence in retail trading.

ICE said the proposed operation would be kept separate from its institutional futures business. It plans to use a dedicated clearing structure, which the exchange owner said is intended to protect existing institutional customers from retail counterparty risks. More than 99% of participation in ICE’s current markets is institutional, according to the company.

The proposal remains conditional. The companies have not disclosed a launch date, and ICE has not revealed the amount of its planned minority investment in Trade[XYZ]. Cointelegraph said it contacted both companies for comment but had not received a response by publication.

Investors and distribution plans

Stanley Druckenmiller, the billionaire Wall Street investor, is among Trade[XYZ]’s investors. He said on X that he was excited to be an investor in the company and looked forward to using its products. Elon Musk highlighted the announcement by sharing Druckenmiller’s post with the comment “Interesting.”

Customers using the proposed market would be required to complete identity and anti-money-laundering checks. Trading would take place through participating futures brokers rather than through an unregulated retail access route.

Distribution is expected to involve ICE’s joint venture with OKX, but that arrangement also requires separate approvals. ICE invested in OKX at a $25 billion valuation in March, according to the source material.

The proposed Trade[XYZ] market is separate from another ICE-linked initiative involving tokenized shares and OKX. That venture has received objections from 38 companies, including Walmart, Eli Lilly, Carnival, Arcos Dorados and Cigna. Those objections concern tokenized stock products, not the perpetual-futures proposal announced with Trade[XYZ].

Regulatory path remains unresolved

The plans arrive as US regulators consider how perpetual contracts should be treated across different markets. President Donald Trump said on Aug. 19 that Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Michael Selig was working to bring Hyperliquid into the United States in a “fully compliant and legal fashion.”

The CFTC approved Kalshi’s Bitcoin perpetual contract in May, but said perpetuals linked to other asset classes should be reviewed individually. That position means approval for a broader market covering stocks, indexes, commodities, currencies and cryptocurrencies would need to be assessed through the relevant regulatory process.

The regulatory uncertainty is central to the proposal. ICE and Trade[XYZ] have outlined the intended structure, but the market’s availability, product range and timing depend on approvals that have not yet been granted.

Moneyiar market picture

Moneyiar market data recorded on Oct. 25, 2026, at 22:39 local time showed Hyperliquid’s HYPE at $76.815565148, up 0.63% over 24 hours but down 1.71% over seven days. The data was collected before the Thursday price move described in the report and therefore does not represent the later quoted level above $96.

For comparison, Pump.fun’s PUMP was priced at $0.0042620684, down 0.56% over 24 hours and up 4.2% over seven days. WINkLink’s WIN stood at $0.0000639404, rising 3.31% over 24 hours and 21.61% over seven days. These figures are Moneyiar data at the stated times.