Hyperliquid opened its Hyperliquid Policy Center in Washington today, a nonprofit aimed at shaping U.S. decentralized finance (DeFi) regulation. The entity will engage Congress and federal agencies on rules for perpetual derivatives and other crypto products, according to statements posted on X.
$28M Token Pledge Funds Policy Push
To bankroll the initiative, the Hyper Foundation donated 1 million HYPE tokens, worth roughly $28 million. Hyperliquid said the tokens would be unstaked the same day, giving the community a direct voice in the capital. CEO Jake Chervinsky argued that existing U.S. financial laws were never built for decentralized systems, yet on-chain activity already rivals centralized exchanges in liquidity.
Team: Ex-Wall Street Lawyer and Variant Alum
The center named Policy Counsel Brad Bourque, previously at Sullivan & Cromwell, and Policy Director Salah Ghazzal, former policy lead at Variant. Founder Jeff Yan noted Hyperliquid's decentralized development model had lacked unified representation, making education and advocacy essential. Chervinsky recently warned in CLARITY Act debates that weak developer protections remain a critical risk.
The center plans to publish technical research, submit comments on proposed rules, and tackle legal questions around perpetual contracts. Separately, journalist Eleanor Terrett reported the White House may hold a stablecoin yield meeting Thursday with banks and crypto firms, though details are unconfirmed.