U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed during a meeting with crypto industry leaders at the White House that regulators are working to bring Hyperliquid to the American market fully legally. The exchange's native coin, HYPE, reacted with an immediate surge of more than 6% within a few hours.
The event took place on Wednesday, August 19, at a closed-door meeting with executives from leading technology and cryptocurrency companies. Among those invited were top managers from Coinbase, Ripple, and Nasdaq, as well as SEC Chairman Paul Atkins and CFTC Chairman Mike Selig. It was Selig whom Trump singled out with special gratitude, calling him a key figure in the process of legalizing Hyperliquid in the United States.
"I understand that Mike is also working to bring Hyperliquid to the U.S. fully legally and transparently," the president stated. This remark came against the backdrop of the platform, which is the leading decentralized perpetual futures exchange, still blocking users from the U.S., considering them restricted persons under its terms of use.
Why this matters for the market
The choice of date is no coincidence. On August 20, the first meeting of the CFTC's Advisory Committee on Innovation will take place in Washington. On the agenda are crypto assets, artificial intelligence, and prediction markets. Preparation for this event has been underway for several months: in July, the Hyperliquid Policy Center and the Phantom wallet filed a joint petition with the CFTC demanding that DeFi protocols be exempt from outdated exchange rules.
Markets reacted immediately. HYPE rose more than 6% in a day and was trading around $68.19 at the time of publication. The token's market capitalization stands at approximately $15.1 billion, placing it tenth among all crypto assets. It is worth recalling that in May, HYPE overtook Dogecoin for the first time, entering the top 10.
Outlook and risks
Legal access to the U.S. market is critically important for Hyperliquid not only from the perspective of investor sentiment. Traders from the U.S. hold dominant positions in the derivatives market, and their inclusion could bring significant new volume and fee revenue to the ecosystem.
However, resistance remains. CME Group and NYSE owner ICE are advocating for stricter control over the platform, citing risks of manipulation and potential sanctions consequences. Compliance issues remain unresolved: registration, KYC procedures, and leverage limits are difficult to apply to non-custodial on-chain trading.
The nearest catalyst will be the committee meeting on Thursday. Whether Selig will present specific conditions or limit himself to general principles will determine the further price dynamics of HYPE. In my analysis, if the regulator offers a clear roadmap, we could see sustained growth above $70. But without specifics, the current momentum risks fading quickly.