The Hyperliquid Policy Center has asked European regulators to keep perpetual futures under existing derivatives rules rather than create a new crypto-specific category. The group submitted its position during the European Commission's review of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, arguing that product features, not blockchain technology, should decide how an instrument is classified.
The advocacy arm known as Hyperliquid Policy Center (HPC) made the case directly to EU regulators reviewing crypto-asset rules, pushing back against treating blockchain-based products as a separate class of instrument by default.
HPC backs MiFID II rules for perpetual futures
HPC submitted its position during the European Commission's review of MiCA. It argued that financial instruments on public blockchains should not be excluded from MiFID II.
The group said blockchain use should not be the sole criterion for triggering MiCA for a financial product, noting that existing European Securities and Markets Authority guidelines already consider economic features when classifying instruments. HPC applied the same logic to perpetual futures, which have no fixed expiration date and share key characteristics with other derivatives regulated under MiFID II. It is seeking confirmation of this treatment through existing ESMA guidelines, which would prevent the creation of a separate regulatory category for crypto-linked perpetual contracts.
Public blockchain records could support compliance
HPC also asked regulators to consider public blockchain records to meet existing transparency requirements, since trades, funding payments, orders and liquidations are already recorded on public networks for independent verification. MiFID II requires firms to maintain records and report on trading activity, and HPC said regulators might use verifiable onchain information when considering compliance with those requirements.
The group also wants disclosure rules that reflect the actual role of each participant and the risks involved, including funding rates, margin rules, reference prices and position-closing rules. HPC argued that perpetual futures are not contracts for difference, since they are usually traded on order books, while CFD providers can deal directly with customers as counterparties.
Hyperliquid expands its onchain infrastructure
The submission coincides with Hyperliquid growing its trading infrastructure. Manual borrowing went live on September 18, letting users borrow USDC and USDT against supported collateral, and total borrowing on the platform has since reached $269 million. The feature runs on the same HyperCore infrastructure that supports Hyperliquid's portfolio margin system.
Hyperliquid has also added HIP-3 functionality for permissioned markets, letting deployment teams manage onchain allowlists that control market access. HPC's submission further called for existing financial rules to govern regulated products regardless of the blockchain used, in order to preserve access to global liquidity.
Source: CoinGape
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