Hyperliquid launches Washington DeFi policy centre with $29M HYPE funding
Hyperliquid, a decentralized exchange known for rapid growth in perpetual futures, has launched the Hyperliquid Policy Center, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit focused on DeFi regulation, perpetual futures and on-chain market infrastructure. Veteran crypto lawyer Jake Chervinsky will serve as founder and CEO and lead outreach to lawmakers and regulators. The Hyper Foundation committed 1,000,000 HYPE tokens (about $28–29 million) to seed the centre. Hyperliquid reported roughly $250 billion in perpetual futures volume and $6.6 billion spot volume in the past month (per DeFiLlama), underscoring its market footprint. The centre plans to brief Congress and federal agencies, publish technical research, advise on regulatory rulemaking, and push for rules tailored to decentralized protocols — with early priorities including a legal framework for perpetual contracts. The launch adds another advocacy group to Washington’s crowded crypto-policy landscape (alongside organizations such as the Blockchain Association, DeFi Education Fund and Solana Policy Institute). For traders, the move signals intensified lobbying for DeFi-specific rules that could influence on-chain derivatives requirements, compliance costs, and the regulatory clarity around perpetual futures markets — factors that may affect liquidity and risk premia for HYPE and other exchange-native tokens.
Neutral
The news is primarily regulatory and institutional rather than product-level: launching a Washington D.C. policy centre and funding it with 1,000,000 HYPE is aimed at shaping legal frameworks for DeFi and perpetual contracts. For the HYPE token specifically, this is a supportive development that increases institutional advocacy and could improve regulatory clarity — a generally constructive signal. However, the effect on price is uncertain and likely gradual: regulatory engagement can reduce long-term regulatory risk (potentially bullish), but it may also lead to stricter compliance requirements that raise costs or limit certain activities (potentially bearish). Short-term market reaction is therefore likely muted or mixed as traders weigh implications; any meaningful price move would depend on subsequent policy outcomes, concrete rule proposals, or changes to trading or compliance costs for Hyperliquid’s markets. Consequently, the immediate price impact on HYPE is best classified as neutral.