Intercontinental Exchange brings Trade[XYZ] perpetual contracts into the US regulated perimeter. The owner of the New York Stock Exchange has agreed to move Trade[XYZ]'s Hyperliquid-based markets under US regulation.
A perpetual contract is a derivative instrument with no expiration date. Hyperliquid is a blockchain-based platform for derivative instruments. Trade[XYZ] deploys its markets specifically on it.
For the trader, the takeaway is this. Round-the-clock contracts on stocks, indices, commodities, currencies and crypto promise to open up to ordinary retail clients. But only if regulators give the go-ahead.
What exactly was signed?
ICE takes on the role of exclusive operator and is building separate infrastructure for these markets.
- Exclusive operator - ICE manages the regulated Trade[XYZ] markets.
- Separate structure - a dedicated exchange and clearing venue is being created for them.
- Strategic minority investment - ICE is taking an equity stake in Trade[XYZ]; the size of the stake has not been disclosed.
How such contracts work. They have no expiration date, unlike a regular futures contract. The price is held near the underlying market through a funding mechanism - periodic payments between long and short positions.
Why is this a turnaround for ICE?
The exchange is moving toward retail. The company itself acknowledges that more than 99% of participants in its markets today are institutions.
They trade term futures and hedge risk over the long term. There is virtually no retail trader in these markets.
The key point: the largest US exchange group is for the first time building retail access to perpetual contracts - an instrument that until now has lived only on crypto exchanges.
When will trading be possible?
There is no launch date. The companies are only preparing to file applications for all the necessary approvals, including a separate approval for leveraged trading.
Access is promised through FCM intermediaries that have become participants in the platform. Clients will be screened under identification and anti-money-laundering rules.
Much remains unresolved:
- Products. Which contracts will go first has not been announced.
- Leverage. Where the cap will be is not yet known.
- Geography. Whether access will be available in all states is unclear.
- Price. How to calculate the reference price when the underlying market is closed.
- Collateral and settlement. The terms for holding collateral, settlement and handling defaults have not been disclosed.
Separately, ICE promises that its commercial hedgers will not bear the risk of the new venue. It is worth keeping the timing of regulatory decisions alongside other events in the economic calendar.
What came before this?
This is not ICE's first approach to the topic. The exchange has a joint project with OKX that is seeking broker-dealer and FCM registrations in the US.
There, they plan to start with perpetual contracts on Brent and WTI. At the same time, both CME and ICE itself have previously publicly pointed to the risks of Hyperliquid - from sanctions evasion to market integrity.
Perpetuals have reached regulated venues
You've been trading perpetual contracts for years already - just on crypto exchanges, without clearing and without an FCM. Now they're being dragged into the American perimeter, and with them will come leverage limits and rules you'll have to get used to. There's a similar story in prop trading: the trading nominal is provided by the company, but the instrument set and permitted leverage are different for each. Which perpetuals and which pairs are actually available can only be seen in the terms of specific programs - and those are worth skimming before paying for an evaluation.