Hyperliquid Strategies Chases a US Futures Broker License

• Hyperliquid Strategies has applied to register a subsidiary as a US futures broker.
• The company’s quarterly profit came almost entirely from the rising price of HYPE.
• Its core business still spent more money than it brought in.
• ICE and Kraken’s parent company are pursuing similar regulated access to Hyperliquid.

Hyperliquid Strategies (NASDAQ: PURR), or HSI, the largest publicly listed holder of the HYPE token, said on November 5 that its subsidiary HypeStrat Markets has applied to register as a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM), the type of regulated US broker that holds customer accounts and money for futures trading. If regulators approve it, the company could serve American customers trading perpetual futures, which are futures contracts with no expiry date, on permissioned markets built on Hyperliquid’s technology. The filing came alongside results for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, when the company reported $620.6 million in net income. Nearly all of that profit came from an increase in the market value of the HYPE tokens it holds.

Without the HYPE rally, the quarter lost money

The company’s fiscal year ends on June 30, so the September period is the first quarter of fiscal 2027. HSI recorded $803.0 million in unrealized gains on HYPE during the quarter. That figure is larger than its entire net profit and comes from revaluing tokens the company still holds, while the recurring side of the business remained small by comparison. Staking and validator commissions plus interest income came to $13.3 million, while operating and equity facility costs reached $22.9 million.

Source: Hyperliquid Strategies earnings release and SEC filings

Cash flow tells the same story, and according to the company’sfilings with the SEC, operating activities used about $17.1 million in cash during the quarter. Over the past year, reported results have closely followed the HYPE price: a $317.9 million loss in the December 2025 quarter, followed by profits of $152.5 million, $470.9 million and now $620.6 million as the token recovered. A falling HYPE price would reverse those gains just as quickly. Part of that reversal is already visible, with HYPE trading near $78.42 on November 6, about 20% below its September 23 record of $97.99, a level that would value the 38.5 million tokens HSI held at the end of September at roughly $3.02 billion, about $486 million less than the quarter-end figure.

How new shares paid for 9.1 million HYPE

HSI raised $911 million by issuing new stock during the quarter. It spent $785 million on roughly 9.1 million HYPE and $17 million on buying back about 2.7 million of its own shares. Its holdings grew from 29.3 million tokens at the end of June to 38.5 million at the end of September, worth about $3.505 billion at the quarter-end price of $90.99. A treasury update dated October 28 put holdings at about 38.9 million HYPE, with an average purchase cost of $56.35 per token and $245.3 million in cash and cash-like instruments. The company reported no debt.

The $56.35 average applies only to the roughly 25.9 million tokens bought with $1.583 billion under the treasury program. HSI also started with contributed tokens and has earned more through staking, so that number does not reflect the cost of everything it holds.

What an FCM license would let HypeStrat do

An FCM accepts futures orders from customers and holds the money backing those positions, so it is subject to capital, segregation and reporting rules. To register, a firm applies through the National Futures Association, the self-regulatory body that supervises futures brokers under the authority of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). According to NFA records cited after the announcement, HypeStrat filed in August and its application is still pending.

The license by itself would not open Hyperliquid’s main exchange to Americans. The plan depends on HIP-3, a Hyperliquid upgrade that lets outside developers launch their own perpetual futures markets by staking HYPE, and on HIP-3*, a proposed addition that would let those market operators decide who can trade through on-chain allowlists. Regulated firms need that control because they have to verify their customers and keep out anyone who is not eligible. The company’s investor presentation says HIP-3* is still in development, with early allowlist features running only on testnet. Any market HypeStrat serves would also need its own regulatory approval.

ICE and Kraken’s parent are taking the same route

In its annual results release, HSI noted that on August 19 the US President said publicly that the CFTC chairman was working to bring Hyperliquid into the United States in a compliant way. Since then, NYSE owner Intercontinental Exchange and Kraken parent Payward have both announced their own plans.

All three arrangements remain subject to regulatory approval

HSI is the only one of the three that also holds a large amount of the token whose network it wants to broker, which means a successful US launch could lift both its future brokerage revenue and the value of its roughly 38.9 million HYPE.

How brokerage income would connect to HYPE

Chief Executive Officer David Schamis described the $802 million spent during the quarter and the FCM application as parts of the same bet on Hyperliquid. The company estimates the ecosystem generated about $834 million in value for token holders over the 12 months to September, mainly through programmatic HYPE buybacks funded by trading fees. Even so, more US trading would not automatically mean more demand for HYPE. Traders on these markets can post USDC as collateral without ever buying the token. Any benefit to HYPE would depend on fee levels, deployer staking requirements and how much volume regulated markets actually attract.

Dilution and timing before the NFA decides

Raising $911 million in one quarter makes the number of HYPE tokens per PURR share more important than the total size of the treasury, since new shares spread the holdings across more owners. The cumulative average issue price of $10.36 per share is also worth watching, because selling stock above net asset value adds value for existing shareholders while selling below it reduces their stake. On the November 5 earnings call, Chief Operating Officer Jeroen Nieuwkoop gave a rough estimate of three to six months for registration, while stressing that the figure was an early estimate and that the regulator sets its own pace.

Even a quick approval would leave HypeStrat with no markets to serve until HIP-3* launches on mainnet and an approved operator lists products through it. The company’s next quarterly report, covering the December quarter, will be the first to show whether staking income grows enough to cover operating costs while the brokerage plan waits on both decisions.