President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is working to bring Hyperliquid, the offshore decentralized derivatives exchange, into the United States “in a fully compliant and legal fashion.”
Trump made the comment at a White House event with crypto and technology executives. He credited CFTC Chair Mike Selig with leading the effort, saying Selig is “working very hard on that.”
HYPE, Hyperliquid’s native token, climbed as much as 23% over the course of the day. An initial jump of about 11% followed the remarks directly, with gains extending as the news spread.
The Pentagon’s blacklist of Chinese AI models adds a new layer to scrutiny around Trump’s World Liberty Financial, as the platform earns fees from a deal involving those models. The development also follows a federal bank charter granted just three days earlier, linking the same stablecoin infrastructure to the president’s family business.
CZ: ‘Hugely Positive for Everyone in the Industry’
In a post relayed by crypto commentator Jake Gagain, Zhao’s comments read:
“This is not just about Hyperliquid… There will be so many Perp DEX’s & decentralized services available to US users… This is hugely positive for everyone in the industry.”
Zhao followed up on his own account.
Many people miss the bigger picture. Policy cannot be applied to only one company/project. What’s good for one is good for the rest of the industry. https://t.co/9jWYCwciIR
— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) August 20, 2026
“Many people miss the bigger picture. “Policy cannot be applied to only one company/project. What’s good for one is good for the rest of the industry.”
His point is a regulatory pathway built for Hyperliquid would likely extend to other decentralized perpetual futures platforms as well.
The Regulatory Groundwork Behind the Announcement
Regulators and Hyperliquid’s own policy arm have been laying groundwork for months.
- In June, Selig said onchain markets like Hyperliquid’s “will transform our markets” and that the CFTC wants to “create a path to bring these onchain markets into the United States” under some form of regulation.
- On August 7, the Hyperliquid Policy Center, the exchange’s policy and research arm, submitted comments urging the CFTC to keep a phased, gradual approach to reviewing perpetual futures products.
Those steps suggest Wednesday’s remarks reflect an active process rather than an offhand mention, though no formal CFTC action or rule has been issued.
From Caution to Endorsement
Zhao’s enthusiasm this week is a shift from where he stood two months earlier.
In June, Zhao praised Hyperliquid’s technology but flagged its regulatory exposure. “They don’t have KYC. They claim they’re decentralized,” he said at the time, referring to the exchange’s lack of know-your-customer checks. “I would never do what they do, given what I’ve experienced. I assume they have good lawyers.”
That caution has since given way to unqualified praise, tracking the same period in which the White House began publicly discussing a compliance pathway for the exchange. What changed between June and August was not Hyperliquid’s product. It was the emergence of a stated route to US legality.
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