Hyperliquid Policy Center and trade[XYZ] urge CFTC to allow energy perpetual contracts

Two players in the on-chain derivatives world want the CFTC to stop treating perpetual contracts like they’re exotic creatures and start treating them like what they are: swaps with a slightly different engine under the hood. The Hyperliquid Policy Center (HPC) and trade[XYZ] submitted a joint comment letter on August 24, 2026, asking regulators to create a unified framework that would greenlight energy perpetual contracts, stablecoin integration, and on-chain infrastructure in the US market. The argument is straightforward. If the CFTC already approved the first US-listed perpetual contract back in May, why should the regulatory treatment change depending on whether the underlying asset is Bitcoin or a barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude? The case for economic structure over asset-specific rules The comment letter, addressed to both the SEC and CFTC, makes one central pitch: regulate perpetual contracts based on their economic structure, not on the specific asset they reference. A perp is a perp, whether it tracks BTC or Brent crude. The funding rate mechanism, the margin requirements, the settlement logic. These are structural features that don’t fundamentally change when you...