ICE Agreed to Bring Trade[XYZ]’s Hyperliquid-Based Perpetual Markets Onshore and Took a Strategic Stake:

HedgeCo.Net — Intercontinental Exchange has signed a definitive agreement with Trade[XYZ], a deployer of real-world-asset perpetual futures markets on the Hyperliquid decentralized derivatives platform, to bring those markets onshore in the United States, subject to regulatory approvals. ICE will be the exclusive operator of Trade[XYZ]’s regulated markets and is making a strategic investment in the company.

ICE intends to seek approvals for a new, dedicated market and clearing structure built on Hyperliquid to run KYC- and AML-compliant perpetual futures, including approvals needed for leveraged trading. Trade[XYZ] currently offers eligible users outside the U.S. around-the-clock access to perpetual contracts referencing equities, equity indices, commodities and currencies. Once approved, verified customers would access the markets through futures commission merchants that become members of the platform.

The retail business will be run separately from ICE’s institutional futures and clearing franchise, which the exchange operator said is more than 99% institutional today. ICE said its commercial hedgers would bear no exposure to the trading or counterparty risk of retail traders on the new platform. Distribution is expected through brokers and platforms including ICE’s joint venture with OKX, which remains subject to its own regulatory approvals. ICE said its minority position is not expected to have a material impact on its 2026 adjusted results.

Stanley Druckenmiller confirmed on the same day that he is an investor in Trade[XYZ] and said he plans to use its products, according to reports from Unchained and CNBC. Terms of his investment were not disclosed.

For hedge funds and other active traders, the deal is a sign that perpetual futures, long confined to offshore crypto venues, are moving toward a U.S.-regulated wrapper backed by one of the largest exchange groups. It also places a decentralized protocol at the base of a regulated U.S. derivatives market, a structure regulators have not yet approved.