Hyperliquid Strategies files to become a US futures broker

This was announced, not launched. Nothing described as pending below is live yet.

What happened

Hyperliquid Strategies, a Nasdaq-listed HYPE treasury company, disclosed the application in its quarterly results. An FCM is the regulated broker that holds a US customer’s futures account and the money in it. HIP-3* is an optional version of HIP-3 builder-deployed perps with an onchain allowlist, so only approved accounts can trade.

Its earnings slides show where an FCM fits: a licensed exchange and clearinghouse runs the markets and allowlist; Hyperliquid supplies the order book, margining and settlement.

On the earnings call (third-party transcript), CEO David Schamis said the company has no plans to run its own markets and wants a neutral FCM. He said the stake and revenue terms for HIP-3* deployers are not yet known.

What is not live yet

Nothing has been approved. The company says there is “no assurance as to the timing or outcome of the application”. Records at the NFA, the futures industry’s self-regulator, show the applicant as a pending member and pending FCM, both dated 14 September 2026 and unchanged on 6 November; CoinDesk describes an August application. COO Jeroen Nieuwkoop called it “pretty early stage” but said “we’re hopeful” of “a maybe three, four, five, six-month timeframe”. Schamis said it is working with the NFA and the CFTC, the US derivatives regulator. The release and slides do not name the markets the FCM would carry.

Hyperliquid’s terms restrict the United States and Ontario (see US access). HIP-3* reached testnet on 26 October and, per the slides, still awaits a network upgrade. A separate lawsuit over single-stock perps at other exchanges is undecided. Two other US routes also need approval: Payward and ICE with trade.xyz.

The results

For the quarter ended 30 September:

• HYPE: 38.5 million tokens, worth $3.505 billion at $90.99. 38.9 million by 28 October.
• Income: $12.3 million in staking revenue and validator commissions plus $1.0 million in interest.
• Net income: $620.6 million, mostly $803.0 million of unrealized gains on HYPE, less a $172.3 million tax provision. A lower HYPE price would reverse gains of this kind; the 10-Q puts HYPE at $83.73 on 4 November.
• Capital: $911 million raised in equity, $785 million spent on HYPE. Cash and cash-like instruments: $254.6 million; no debt. On 4 November stockholders approved issuing shares above 19.99% of common stock under its Chardan agreement.
• Validator: the Hyperliquid Strategies x Unit validator had 38.9 million HYPE delegated, the most outside the Hyper Foundation and fourth overall (Hyperliquid API, 6 November 14:20 UTC).

The company says it is not affiliated with Hyperliquid or the Hyper Foundation. Its stock is not the PURR spot token on Hyperliquid. Perps are leveraged and can liquidate a position quickly.