Hyperliquid Policy Center Calls for SEC and CFTC to Unify Regulatory Classification of Perpetual Contracts

TechFlow reported on August 25 that, based on a comment document released by the Hyperliquid Policy Center (HPC), it calls on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to establish a coordinated regulatory framework for perpetual contracts. The HPC argues that while perpetual contracts lack a fixed expiration date, they exhibit traditional futures characteristics such as standardization, fungibility, the ability to offset positions, and price convergence through funding rates. Consequently, cash-settled equity perpetual contracts possessing these features should be permitted to be listed and traded as "security futures."

HPC recommends that the two agencies unify the classification criteria for perpetual contracts across different underlying assets, retain flexibility in product listing determinations for trading venues, and modernize the security futures regime. It stated that clear regulatory guidance would help lower market entry barriers, promote exchange competition, and bring perpetual contract trading back to the U.S. market.