Hyperliquid adopts KYC as 3 DeFi platforms target U.S. market access

Hyperliquid joined Uniswap in adding KYC controls as 3 DeFi protocols pivot toward regulated U.S. market access.

Hyperliquid introduced a KYC-based allowlist feature for its HIP-3 commodity futures, becoming the second major decentralized exchange in a week to adopt compliance controls aimed at unlocking access to U.S. markets.

"Clearly the conversation with Hyperliquid Labs, HPC and TradeXYZ with the SEC and CFTC have been productive," crypto investor McKenna said on X, adding that the infrastructure is being built to "onboard into the United States."

The feature, dubbed Stars, lets deployers create allowlists of as many as 10,000 addresses for trading HIP-3 contracts. Addresses not on the list can fund accounts but cannot trade. The move follows Uniswap's unveiling of permissioned pools last week, which CEO Hayden Adams said was designed for trading "regulated tokens and tokenized assets."

HYPE, Hyperliquid's native token, traded at $55 as of Monday, extending its July decline to 25% from a monthly peak of $73. The token faces additional pressure from institutional selling, with Bitwise transferring another 117,917 HYPE tokens worth $7.05 million to Coinbase, according to Lookonchain.

Hyperliquid became the first DEX to screen and block addresses linked to the sanctioned HTX exchange, formerly Huobi Global, before the KYC rollout. The compliance push follows meetings between Hyperliquid Labs, the Hyperliquid Policy Center, and TradeXYZ with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to explore ways to offer on-chain trading within regulatory bounds.

HIP-3 daily volume now accounts for about 60% of total Hyperliquid volume, with TradeXYZ representing 99% of that activity, data from ASXN show. TradeXYZ CEO Collins Belton dismissed concerns about the concentration, saying on X that "there is no reason to leave" the Hyperliquid ecosystem given its connected suite of crypto, commodities, options, and prediction markets.

HYPE Faces $50 Support Test

HYPE has fallen 25% in July after failing to reclaim the $76-to-$78 resistance zone, according to CoinGecko data. The token now trades within a descending channel, below both its 20-day and 50-day exponential moving averages, with the relative strength index below the neutral 50 level. The $50-to-$52 region represents the most critical support, aligning with the 200-day EMA and a historical demand zone. A break below that level could extend the correction toward the $35-to-$40 range, while a close above $62 would indicate waning bearish momentum.

The broader DeFi sector is watching Hyperliquid's compliance experiment as a potential template. Uniswap's permissioned pools and Hyperliquid's Stars feature represent two approaches to the same problem: how to offer decentralized trading within U.S. regulatory frameworks that currently lack clear DeFi-specific rules. If successful, the model could unlock significant capital inflows from U.S. institutional investors who have largely stayed on the sidelines of on-chain markets. The U.S. currently has no comprehensive DeFi regulatory framework, leaving protocols to self-regulate through features like allowlists and permissioned pools while awaiting formal guidance from the SEC and CFTC.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.