Hyperliquid (HYPE) has been setting the pace in the perpetual futures market but that lead is facing a new test after OKX—along with Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) announced plans for OKX to introduce perpetual futures tied to major energy benchmarks from ICE, including Brent Crude and WTI Crude.
New OKX Perpetuals
In an official release, the companies said that ICE’s futures pricing for Brent and WTI would serve as the underlying reference for the new perpetual contracts launched on OKX’s platform.
OKX framed the move as a bridge between traditional finance and digital trading, arguing that bringing those benchmark prices into perpetual futures could meet demand from market participants who want familiar pricing data in a more modern format.
Haider Rafique, Global Managing Partner at OKX, said oil markets are central to the global economy and that ICE’s Brent and WTI futures markets act as the reference point energy traders rely on.
He added that offering these benchmarks in a “regulated, transparent environment” would give retail traders direct access to widely used energy pricing—positioning the launch as part of OKX’s broader efforts to modernize markets.
Trabue Bland, Senior Vice President for Futures Exchanges at ICE, said the new OKX perpetual contracts would let OKX’s customer base access energy benchmark products derived from ICE’s “deep, liquid, transparent, and global” oil markets.
The emphasis here is that OKX would be anchoring these perpetual products to ICE’s established benchmark markets, rather than relying solely on a decentralized-style pricing mechanism.
That matters because, until now, Hyperliquid has been the place many traders have gone for these kinds of oil perp trades. By mid-March, cumulative volume across its oil contracts climbed from about $339 million to around $7.3 billion in roughly two weeks.
Hyperliquid Under Threat?
At the height of activity, crude oil open interest on Hyperliquid crossed $300 million in March, an amount that reportedly exceeded every other crypto pair on the exchange.
One reason Hyperliquid has remained a preferred venue is its operating model. As The Street reported Friday, the platform’s main advantage is that it supports 24/7 trading even during weekends.
If OKX structures its new perpetual futures around standard market hours rather than continuous trading, then Hyperliquid’s “always-on” edge could remain intact. However, the competitive comparison may shift quickly depending on how OKX schedules trading hours and liquidity for these products.
Where the rivalry could become more intense is on credibility and access. The key difference, according to the description of both approaches, is how the contracts are priced.
Hyperliquid’s oil contracts are synthetic instruments, priced using the platform’s own mechanisms. OKX’s contracts, by contrast, are intended to be anchored to ICE’s markets, which OKX characterizes as deep, liquid, and globally transparent.
The distinction may be especially important because regulatory scrutiny around Hyperliquid’s oil futures has reportedly been increasing.
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and ICE raised concerns with regulatory agencies and lawmakers in Washington, arguing that Hyperliquid’s decentralized, anonymous trading environment could allow bad actors to manipulate global oil benchmarks or assist sanctioned entities in bypassing US restrictions.
Featured image created with OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com
