Legislative Stalemate Shifts Rulemaking to Regulators
TREE NEWS reports: The U.S. crypto market structure bill, the CLARITY Act, failed to advance in the Senate on September 15, 2026, falling one vote short at 49-50 after passing the House in July 2025. The only federal crypto law actually enacted remains the GENIUS Act of July 2025, which addresses payment stablecoins. With Congress deadlocked, the SEC and CFTC have taken the driver’s seat, a shift that materially changes the pathway for offshore venues like Hyperliquid.
The Regulatory Pipeline
Key developments now shape the landscape:
- March 17: SEC and CFTC issued a joint interpretation replacing the SEC’s 2019 framework, defining digital securities, digital commodities, collectibles, and tools. Digital commodities are not treated as securities if their value derives from a functional network rather than managerial efforts.
- May 29: The CFTC approved the first Bitcoin perpetual contract on a U.S. futures exchange, though CME’s June lawsuit challenges the approval.
- August 18: The SEC proposed the Crypto Asset Regulations, creating an issuance exemption and a safe harbor that removes investment-contract status once promised work is completed or abandoned.
- September 17: The CFTC’s Letter 26-25 allows front-ends to route users to registered U.S. brokers and exchanges without registering as introducing brokers, provided they don’t custody funds, provide signals, or determine order routing. The SEC also approved an innovation exemption for on-chain trading of tokenized U.S. equities.
HYPE as a Digital Commodity
HYPE was not among the 16 digital commodities named in the March interpretation, but the list tracks assets with listed CFTC-regulated futures. On May 18, Coinbase Derivatives self-certified HYPE perpetual-style futures under CFTC Rule 40.2, which began trading June 8. This suggests HYPE is already trading on a U.S. venue as a commodity future, a critical step toward institutional acceptance.
The Payward Template
On September 16, Kraken parent Payward announced plans to use permissioned HIP-3. The structure involves three licensed entities: Bitnomial Exchange as the designated contract market, Bitnomial Clearinghouse for clearing and settlement, and NinjaTrader Clearing as the futures commission merchant. Only whitelisted accounts can trade these contracts, creating a permissioned U.S. order book rather than an open global one. HyperCore would handle matching, margining, and liquidations, with Bitnomial Clearinghouse acting as the backstop liquidator via the modifyBackstopLiquidatorApproval parameter.
What to Watch
Three factors will determine the pace: whether HIP-3 launches on mainnet, whether Bitnomial self-certifies or seeks approval, and whether the CFTC’s pending market rules recognize on-chain order books as clearing engines. The pieces are largely in place, but the final rule text and actual contract listings remain the true test.
