EU, Don't Perp-End: Hyperliquid Says Futures Are Still Derivatives 🧾

The Hyperliquid Policy Center has asked European regulators to keep perpetual futures within the existing derivatives framework rather than treat them as a new asset class under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation. The group submitted its position during the European Commission's review of MiCA, arguing that the use of blockchain technology should not by itself remove a product from MiFID II oversight.

HPC pointed to existing European Securities and Markets Authority guidance that classifies instruments based on economic features rather than the underlying technology. Perpetual futures, which have no fixed expiration date, share core characteristics with derivatives already regulated under MiFID II, the group said, and ESMA guidelines should be used to confirm that treatment. HPC is also seeking to prevent the creation of a separate regulatory bucket for crypto-linked perpetual contracts.

The group further urged EU authorities to recognize public blockchain records as a means of satisfying existing transparency, reporting and compliance obligations. Trades, funding payments, orders and liquidations tied to perpetual futures are recorded on public chains, and HPC said those records should be usable for supervisory purposes under current rules.

HPC framed its request as a continuation of the EU's principles-based approach to financial instruments, under which MiFID II applies to products with derivative-like risk and payoff profiles regardless of how they are issued or settled. The push comes as the Commission weighs potential changes to MiCA, including how it interacts with legacy securities and derivatives frameworks.

By tying the classification of perpetual futures to their economic substance and to on-chain data already available, HPC is betting that Europe's regulators will choose to extend familiar rules rather than draft new ones for crypto-native products.