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The decision by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which opened the way for Kalshi to launch the first regulated perpetual futures in the United States, caused turbulence across the crypto market. The main indicator of sentiment was HYPE, the token of decentralized exchange Hyperliquid, which maintains dominance in this sector.
The first reaction from market participants to Kalshi's release was a 3% drop in HYPE, with the price briefly falling to $62. Investors quickly priced possible risks into the asset as the emergence of a legal player in the U.S. jurisdiction could pull part of institutional liquidity away from the DeFi space.
As a matter of fact, the perpetual contracts market, which grew from $28 trillion in 2023 to $90 trillion in 2025, had remained closed to U.S. institutions until today, and Kalshi is opening direct access to it.
Why Hyperliquid (HYPE) rewrote price all-time high anyway
However, the local scare quickly turned into aggressive buying, and during a large-scale rally, the Hyperliquid token not only fully erased the decline but also updated its all-time high (ATH) at $66.84. Market participants reassessed the paradox of the situation - the legalization of perps by the U.S. regulator does not push decentralized platforms out of the market.
On the contrary, it reduces systemic regulatory risks for the entire niche, confirming the viability of Hyperliquid's business model.
An additional driver behind the trend reversal was a strong accompanying backdrop at the opening of U.S. trading. The market was pricing in Reuters reports about de-escalation in the Middle East and stability in the Strait of Hormuz, which activated a risk-on mode across global markets.
The CFTC verdict opens a new chapter for derivatives in the United States. But instead of taking market share away from decentralized leaders, the legalization of perpetual contracts by the U.S. agency neutralized long-standing investor skepticism, making Hyperliquid one of the main beneficiaries of the industry's transformation.
Dan Burgin
