How ICE & CME Threaten Hyperliquid: Will Crypto Oil Trading Crash?

by

ICE & CME Urge US to Curb Hyperliquid <a href="https://bbg-news.com/brent">Oil</a> Trading

Key Highlights

  • ICE and CME reportedly urged U.S. regulators to scrutinize Hyperliquid’s oil perpetual markets.
  • Concerns include anonymous trading, benchmark manipulation, and sanctions evasion risks.
  • Hyperliquid defended its transparency, citing publicly verifiable on-chain transactions.

Bloomberg reports that Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and CME Group, major financial exchanges, are asking the U.S. government to regulate Hyperliquid, a cryptocurrency exchange located in Singapore. They’re concerned Hyperliquid could potentially disrupt global oil markets.

A Bloomberg report indicates that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and members of Congress are concerned about the anonymous trading practices at Hyperliquid. Sources familiar with the situation say the company isn’t properly identifying its customers, which could allow for illegal insider trading and help countries avoid sanctions.

As a researcher, I’ve found that the way Hyperliquid operates, because it’s currently unregulated, could potentially damage the reliability of price benchmarks that major oil companies and their customers rely on. These benchmarks are increasingly influenced by prices established on Hyperliquid, especially when it comes to setting the initial prices for futures contracts.

Growth amid Iran war 

Hyperliquid’s oil-linked perpetual futures contracts saw a huge surge in trading volume during April, coinciding with increased tensions around Iran. According to Artemis, daily trading topped $700 million on average – a substantial increase from the few million dollars traded daily before the conflict began.

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) want Hyperliquid to register with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). This would require Hyperliquid to follow specific rules, like verifying customer identities, monitoring trades, and being subject to market oversight.

Trabue Bland, a senior vice president at ICE, emphasized the importance of reliable benchmarks. She expressed concern that anything potentially disrupting those benchmarks, especially if it’s beyond anyone’s control, would be a serious issue.

CFTC Chair Michael Selig recently stated that Hyperliquid has the potential to affect prices in both the immediate (spot) and future markets, including those regulated by the CFTC.

As a researcher following the Hyperliquid project, I’ve been looking into recent discussions surrounding their operational strategy. They’ve strongly emphasized the transparency of their system, and rightly so. What’s particularly noteworthy is that every transaction – including trades, liquidations, and funding payments – is publicly verifiable on the blockchain. This level of transparency is something traditional exchanges simply can’t offer, as George Godsal, a spokesperson for the developers, explained to me.

HYPE token price context 

As of today, HYPE is trading at $43.97, up 1.65% over the last 24 hours. This increase is driven by strong buying activity, according to CoinMarketCap. Trading volume has also surged by 105%, reaching $841 million, and the market capitalization is currently $11.19 billion.

The price of HYPE remained relatively stable for about two weeks, but has recently jumped significantly. It rose from a low of $42.84 to a high of $46.95 in the last 24 hours.

Hyperliquid is stopping support for its stablecoin, USDH, just seven months after its launch in September 2025. USDH, created through a community vote by Native Markets, was designed to be a stablecoin that earned rewards and reduce Hyperliquid’s dependence on other stablecoins, while also providing benefits to HYPE token holders.

Balance between innovation and market integrity 

These improvements come after U.S. regulators began closely monitoring oil trading for any potentially illegal activity, regardless of where the trading takes place.

Hyperliquid is projected to earn over $1 billion this year by expanding beyond cryptocurrency into other types of assets. In comparison, established exchanges ICE and CME each earned over $5 billion last year. Ultimately, the key challenge is finding the right balance between new ideas and maintaining a trustworthy market.

Read More

2026-05-15 20:53