HPC, a policy entity linked to Hyperliquid, has filed a formal comment letter with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission on the agency’s advance notice of proposed rulemaking for prediction markets. The group argues that the current discussion is largely framed around centralized market structures, and that applying the same assumptions to onchain systems could shut decentralized prediction markets out of a lawful route in the United States.
Its message is direct. HPC says the CFTC should not stop at rules for centralized platforms, but should also build room for prediction markets that run on public, permissionless blockchains. The letter asks regulators to establish a clear and affirmative legal path for U.S. participants to access decentralized prediction market applications, including platforms such as Hyperliquid.
HPC asks for function-based rules instead of centralized assumptions
In the filing, HPC says clear rules for centralized markets may be a necessary first move, but they should not become the default template for every market design. The group calls for flexible, function-based regulation that can account for decentralized structures rather than assuming the presence of a single exchange operator or custody intermediary. It also frames the issue as one tied to U.S. leadership in DeFi innovation.
The letter is an attempt to shape the regulatory conversation before final rules take form. Hyperliquid’s policy effort appears focused on making sure decentralized products are considered on their own terms, instead of being forced into compliance models built for traditional or semi-centralized venues.
The filing lays out four claimed advantages of decentralized markets
HPC spends much of the letter explaining why it sees decentralized prediction markets as structurally different. According to the filing, prediction markets aggregate dispersed private knowledge into continuously updated public price signals, and blockchain infrastructure strengthens that mechanism through transparency, non-custodial design, and operational resilience. The group points to four main features: no centralized operator holding customer funds, which reduces single-point-of-failure risk; real-time transaction records on a public ledger; access rules determined by transparent and uniform smart contract standards rather than discretionary platform decisions; and native composability between market data, collateral, and other onchain systems.
Those arguments mirror familiar DeFi themes: verifiability, open access, non-custodial settlement, and interoperability across protocols. HPC is effectively telling the CFTC that decentralized prediction markets are not just digital copies of centralized venues, but a separate infrastructure model that should be addressed with different regulatory logic.
HIP-4 outcome markets sit at the center of the push
HPC also states its end goal plainly. The filing seeks to ensure that U.S. market participants can access Hyperliquid, including its planned HIP-4 outcome markets. That makes the comment letter more than a policy submission. It is also part of a regulatory strategy aimed at clearing a path for future product rollout.
With prediction markets drawing more attention across crypto, Hyperliquid has chosen to engage early rather than wait for the rulebook to close. The central question in this filing is narrow but important: whether U.S. users will have a lawful way to participate in decentralized prediction markets if those products are built outside the assumptions of centralized market operators.