Payward to Launch Perpetual Futures via Hyperliquid Protocol

Payward plans to bring regulated perpetual futures to the US using Hyperliquid’s on-chain infrastructure and Bitnomial’s clearing services.

Payward intends to debut on Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 markets, a framework that allows external operators to create and manage their own perpetual futures markets.

The distinction from a standard centralized exchange is significant. Order matching and recording will occur via Hyperliquid’s public blockchain infrastructure, while regulated entities will maintain oversight of access, clearing, and settlement.

Pending the necessary approvals, Bitnomial Exchange will serve as the operator for these HIP-3 markets. The company will create and administer contracts according to its own exchange rules, with Bitnomial Clearinghouse handling the clearing and settlement processes.

American users will not have unrestricted access to all existing Hyperliquid markets. To participate, they must hold a futures account with NinjaTrader Clearing and receive approval from both NinjaTrader and Bitnomial.

This setup establishes a hybrid model: utilizing a public blockchain for trade execution and recording, while maintaining regulated and restricted access to the markets themselves.

Why Payward is Prioritizing Perpetual Futures

Perpetual futures have grown into one of the largest segments of crypto trading, yet a vast majority of this activity has historically remained outside of regulated US markets.

Unlike standard futures, these contracts have no expiration date. This allows traders to hold positions indefinitely, supported by a periodic funding mechanism between long and short positions that keeps the contract price aligned with the underlying asset.

In 2025, global volume for crypto perpetual futures exceeded $85 trillion, according to CoinGecko data cited by Payward. Hyperliquid has emerged as a primary on-chain venue for these specific financial instruments.

The choice of protocol is strategic. Payward gains immediate access to established on-chain infrastructure and liquidity rather than attempting to replicate the entire ecosystem within a closed exchange system.

The Logic Behind the $550 Million Acquisition

This plan builds upon Payward’s acquisition of Bitnomial earlier this year. The company announced the deal in April for up to $550 million, officially closing the acquisition on May 1.

This infrastructure has already enabled Payward to offer regulated perpetual futures in the US. The new project represents the next evolutionary step: instead of keeping the product entirely within the group’s proprietary infrastructure, a portion of the trading activity is being migrated to a public blockchain.

Payward has not yet specified a launch date, as the proposal remains subject to regulatory approval.

The Line Between DeFi and Regulated Exchanges Blurs

The broader significance of this project lies in its structural design. Rather than forcing a choice between a centralized regulated exchange and a permissionless DeFi protocol, Payward is attempting to fuse elements of both models.

Hyperliquid provides the public infrastructure for order books, while Bitnomial and NinjaTrader retain control over participation and clearing procedures.

For Hyperliquid, this opens a new channel to the US market without the protocol itself assuming the role of a regulated exchange. For Payward, the model provides a way to leverage existing on-chain liquidity while licensed entities remain the gatekeepers between US clients and the market.

The company identified Hyperliquid as the first protocol for this strategy, suggesting that the same structure could eventually be applied to other public blockchain markets.