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

The Hyperliquid Policy Coalition and tradeXYZ have urged the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to allow energy perpetual contracts in regulated U.S. markets.

The groups filed a joint comment arguing that perpetual contracts tied to crude oil and natural gas could provide continuous hedging and price discovery when traditional futures markets are closed.

The filing follows a June CFTC request for comment on perpetual contracts tied to physical commodities. The agency permitted the first perpetual futures on a U.S. exchange in May, though only for digital assets.

tradeXYZ operates WTI, Brent and Henry Hub natural gas perpetual markets on Hyperliquid. The markets have generated more than $500 billion in cumulative volume since launching in October 2025.

The groups pointed to the Middle East conflict earlier this year as evidence for continuous markets. While traditional oil futures were closed during the first weekend of the conflict, oil-linked perpetuals continued trading on Hyperliquid. 

HPC said roughly two thirds of the eventual move between Friday’s close and the benchmark reopening had already occurred onchain.

HPC and tradeXYZ argue perpetual contracts can also simplify hedging because they do not expire, allowing traders to maintain exposure without repeatedly rolling futures positions.

They said perpetuals should complement rather than replace dated futures, which remain important for physical delivery and specific contract months.

The filing also highlighted Hyperliquid’s onchain infrastructure, where margining, clearing, and liquidation operate continuously. tradeXYZ said ordinary order book liquidations have handled 97.9% of liquidated notional volume across its markets.

The groups recommended safeguards, including leverage limits and clear disclosures around funding rates and liquidation mechanics.

They also asked the CFTC to recognize stablecoins and tokenized traditional assets as eligible collateral and confirm that regulated markets can use onchain infrastructure for execution, clearing, settlement, and recordkeeping.

HPC said existing U.S. derivatives rules are broad enough to accommodate energy perpetuals without new legislation.