Regulatory scrutiny of crypto perpetual contract platforms is intensifying in the UK. On May 21, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued a notice designating Hyperliquid, Hyper Foundation, the protocol app, and its social media accounts as unauthorized entities, stating that they may be providing or promoting financial services in the UK without a license.

The UK names unauthorized entities.

The notice initially did not generate widespread discussion, but it began appearing more frequently in search results this week, bringing the decentralized perpetual contract platform back into the market spotlight. Hyperliquid is already one of the largest perpetual contract exchanges in the crypto market, making regulatory statements more likely to attract attention.

While the FCA did not announce further penalties in its notification, adding the relevant entities to its unauthorized list already sends a clear regulatory signal. For platforms providing services to UK users, this kind of wording typically indicates increased business expansion and compliance risks.

Different Regulatory Paths Between the US and the UK

While the UK tightens its stance, discussions about similar products are heating up in the US market. Reuters quoted CME Group CEO Terry Duffy as saying that crypto perpetual contracts could be a "disaster waiting to happen," and criticized the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission's process for approving such new and complex products.

Meanwhile, Intercontinental Exchange CEO Jeffrey Sprecher stated that the New York Stock Exchange's parent company was studying Hyperliquid's model and inquiring with regulators about why traditional trading venues couldn't offer similar products. Two days later, the CFTC approved prediction market platform Kalshi to offer Bitcoin perpetual futures.

The ability to withstand pressure in extreme market conditions is attracting attention.

The report noted that as of May 20, Hyperliquid's year-to-date revenue was approximately $255 million, while the HYPE token rose 101% during the same period. With the expansion of trading volume, traditional financial institutions can no longer easily regard such platforms as a fringe market.

Matthew Pinnock, COO of DeFi firm Altura, said regulators are now more concerned about whether such markets can remain stable during periods of high volatility, including whether clearing systems, margin rules, and market monitoring mechanisms are sufficient to withstand rapid market reversals.