A specialized group of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dealing with digital assets held a closed-door meeting with key representatives of the Hyperliquid ecosystem. The negotiations, conducted in a confidential discussion format, were attended by the Hyperliquid Policy Center, the company trade.xyz (XYZ Ltd.), as well as lawyers from the prestigious law firm Sullivan & Cromwell LLP. The central topic was issues of oversight of the crypto sphere and the specifics of regulating decentralized platforms for trading perpetual contracts.
An official memorandum from the agency confirms that the focus was on the technological features of the Hyperliquid protocol and the principles of operation of its market structure. The meeting was initiated by a group officially represented by Natasha Vasan, a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell. On Hyperliquid's side, participants included Policy Center CEO Jake Chervinsky, protocol founder Jeff Yan, and XYZ Ltd. product lead Collins Belton. The latter company, I recall, is responsible for deploying the key HIP-3 upgrade and the 24/7 operation of perpetual contracts on the platform.
Double Blow to Regulators: SEC and CFTC on the Same Agenda
This meeting took place just a few days after the Hyperliquid Policy Center, together with the non-custodial wallet Phantom, sent a detailed joint comment to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). In this document, the participants called for exempting developers of on-chain applications and users of self-custodial wallets from traditional requirements imposed on intermediaries. Thus, Hyperliquid is demonstrating an unprecedented level of engagement with two key U.S. regulators within a single week.
The letter to the CFTC dated July 9 was a response to the agency's request from June 18 regarding the modernization of derivatives regulation. This underscores that Hyperliquid is consistently and at a high level building a dialogue with Washington, rather than trying to circumvent the law.
Pragmatism Instead of Offshore: A New Era of Regulation
The Hyperliquid Policy Center, which began operations in February 2026 as an independent 501(c)(4) organization, aims to create legal opportunities for Americans to access on-chain derivatives. Today's negotiations have become one of the center's most notable initiatives regarding the SEC since the project's launch.
In recent months, Hyperliquid has strengthened its position as one of the market leaders in decentralized perpetual contracts. The negotiations highlight the growing interest of regulators in high-volume on-chain markets that operate without weekends or breaks. Against the backdrop of this news, the HYPE token rose steadily, trading around $65 — investors were pricing in expectations of possible regulatory easing for the ecosystem.
My analysis: This meeting is not just a protocol event. It is a signal that the SEC is moving from a policy of "regulation through enforcement" to a constructive dialogue with DeFi leaders. If the outcomes of these discussions form the basis for future standards for the decentralized sector, we will witness a tectonic shift. Major decentralized platforms are gradually moving away from operating offshore and are beginning to build an open, pragmatic dialogue with Washington. This could mark the beginning of a new, more mature era for the entire industry.