Hyperliquid has formally engaged with the European Commission on the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), marking its first policy engagement outside the United States. The Hyperliquid Policy Council submitted a regulatory response to the EU consultation, arguing that existing frameworks such as MiCA and MiFID II already provide a sufficient basis for overseeing onchain perpetual futures.
The European Commission launched its MiCA review consultation on May 20, 2026, with stakeholders allowed to submit feedback until August 31, 2026. Hyperliquid's response emphasizes that the classification of any financial instrument should depend on its economic characteristics and risks, not on the technological infrastructure on which it operates. Under that view, perpetual futures should fall within MiFID II even when executed and settled on a public blockchain.
The Hyperliquid Policy Council distinguishes perpetual futures from contracts for difference, noting that CFDs are bilateral agreements in which a firm typically sets the price and acts as counterparty, while perpetual futures can trade on order books against other participants. In onchain markets, trades, funding payments and liquidations are publicly recorded on a ledger verifiable by supervisors, researchers and market participants.
Hyperliquid proposes five specific measures: confirming that perpetual futures fall under MiFID II regardless of where they are recorded; adapting their requirements to their specific characteristics; recognizing onchain verifiability as a compliance tool; facilitating European investors' access to global liquidity; and clarifying that operating on a public blockchain does not in itself alter the regulatory classification of the product.
The submission references developments in other jurisdictions. In May, the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission allowed the listing of the first perpetual futures on a U.S. exchange, and in February Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission published a specific framework for these products. Hyperliquid presents those changes as reference points for the European Union to define its position without new legislation, drawing on the interpretive powers that MiFID II and ESMA guidelines already provide.
