Jake Chervinsky, CEO of the newly formed Hyperliquid Policy Center (HPC), has laid out a policy roadmap aimed at reshaping how decentralized finance (DeFi) is regulated in the United States.
Hyperliquid Policy Center Pushes For Clear DeFi Rules
In a recent interview with Flood, Chervinsky discussed both the center’s long-term objectives and the broader regulatory climate in Washington, where lawmakers and agencies are actively debating the future of digital assets.
Chervinsky described HPC as an independent research and advocacy organization dedicated to promoting clear and constructive rules for DeFi. Its mission, he explained, is to work directly with regulators to craft frameworks that allow Americans to participate in decentralized markets while maintaining appropriate oversight.
One of the Hyperliquid Policy Center’s most immediate priorities is expanding lawful access to decentralized perpetual derivatives markets, an area that remains largely off-limits to US participants under current regulatory interpretations.
Beyond derivatives access, HPC is also focused on ensuring that developers building decentralized protocols are not swept into regulatory categories meant for traditional financial institutions.
In his view, open-source developers creating non-custodial DeFi tools should not be treated as money transmitters or financial intermediaries simply because others use their software.
HPC Sets Three Regulatory Goals
The interview also touched on the broader crypto market structure legislation, which is currently stuck in a deadlock in Congress amid ongoing negotiations between the banking and crypto sectors over key provisions.
For HPC, one of the most important elements of the CLARITY Act is explicit protection for DeFi developers. Chervinsky said the center is actively advocating for language that would shield builders of open-source, non-custodial software from being mischaracterized.
The executive also highlighted how real-world market activity can influence policy discussions. He pointed to a recent surge in trading volume on Hyperliquid during a weekend marked by activity tied to HIP-3.
With traditional financial markets closed, decentralized trading continued uninterrupted, offering what he described as a practical demonstration of the advantages of 24/7 blockchain-based infrastructure.
According to Chervinsky, examples like this resonate more strongly with policymakers than abstract arguments about blockchain’s potential. Looking ahead, Chervinsky outlined three benchmarks that would define success for HPC in the coming years.
The first is working with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to create a pathway that would allow US individuals and institutions to legally trade commodity-based perpetual futures on decentralized platforms such as Hyperliquid.
The second goal involves pursuing a similar regulatory framework through the SEC to enable rulemaking around equity perpetuals. The third is securing passage of the CLARITY Act with robust protections for DeFi developers included in the final text.
At the time of writing, Hyperliquid’s native token, HYPE, was trading at $30.44. This represented a 5% loss over the previous 24 hours, in line with the broader crypto market’s retracement following a brief surge on Wednesday.
Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com
