S&P Dow Jones Indices announced Wednesday it is bringing the S&P 500 to the blockchain via Hyperliquid, licensing its flagship equity index to Trade[XYZ] to launch the first officially approved S&P 500 perpetual contract. This means eligible non-U.S. investors can trade the index 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, onchain, without using traditional stock exchanges.
How perpetuals work: no expiry, high leverage
Perpetual futures contracts have no expiration date; they use funding rates (typically adjusted every few hours) to keep prices aligned with spot markets. Their infinite duration, high-leverage options, and round-the-clock access have made them extremely popular in crypto, generating billions in daily trading volume. The S&P 500 is now the first major equity index with official backing from S&P as a perpetual product, using the firm's real-time index data to bring traditional finance standards into crypto trading, ensuring accurate pricing even when traditional markets are closed.
"This collaboration expands access to our benchmarks in digital markets," said Cameron Drinkwater, Chief Product Officer at S&P.
Trade macro news instantly on weekends
For instance, if big macro news breaks on a weekend when traditional markets are closed, traders can now place bets on the S&P 500 immediately via perpetuals instead of guessing Monday's open. Recently, crypto traders used Hyperliquid to trade oil futures on a weekend when the first missile hit Iran, while traditional oil markets remained shut.
Trade[XYZ] runs on Hyperliquid, a decentralized network built for fast trading that claims markets are always open. Since October, XYZ markets have exceeded $100 billion in total volume, with an annualized run rate of more than $600 billion.