Hyperliquid just opened a lobbying office in Washington, D.C. The Hyperliquid Policy Center launched today with $28 million in funding and one of crypto’s most respected regulatory voices at the helm.
This is not another trade association. This is the dominant perpetuals DEX making a direct play for regulatory influence at a pivotal moment for DeFi in the United States.
We are Hyperliquid Policy Center.
— Hyperliquid Policy Center (@HyperliquidPC) February 18, 2026
HPC is a research and advocacy nonprofit focused on advancing a clear path for decentralized finance to thrive in the USA.
We will introduce policymakers to @HyperliquidX and bridge the gap between law and next-generation market infrastructure. pic.twitter.com/9bbQZboJWs
The Setup
Jake Chervinsky is the inaugural CEO. His credentials speak for themselves: former Chief Policy Officer at the Blockchain Association, Chief Legal Officer at Variant Fund, and an associate at Baker McKenzie. He has testified before Congress, shaped industry policy positions, and built a reputation as one of the few crypto lawyers who can translate technical complexity into language regulators understand.
The Hyper Foundation is committing 1 million HYPE tokens to fund the operation. At current prices, that’s approximately $28 million. The tokens are being unstaked today.
Joining Chervinsky on the founding team:
- Brad Bourque as Policy Counsel, formerly at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
- Salah Ghazzal as Policy Director, previously Policy Lead at Variant
The center is actively hiring for Chief of Staff, Head of Communications, and Head of Government Relations.
3/ For me personally, founding HPC is the culmination of a conviction I’ve held for nearly a decade.
— Jake Chervinsky (@jchervinsky) February 18, 2026
I joined crypto believing that traditional finance was due for an upgrade and that public blockchains offer a categorical improvement in transparency, efficiency, and resilience.
The Mission
The policy center’s stated goal is straightforward: create a legal pathway for decentralized finance to operate in the United States.
Right now, Americans are locked out. Perpetual derivatives dominate offshore crypto trading but have no compliant pathway domestically. Hyperliquid processes billions in daily volume, but U.S. users cannot legally participate. The infrastructure exists. The regulatory framework does not.
Chervinsky framed the challenge directly: “We’re in a moment where the U.S. faces a large challenge to rewrite the rules for the new chapter of DeFi.”
The center will focus on three priorities:
- Educating Congress and federal agencies on how decentralized protocols actually work
- Developing a legal framework for perpetual derivatives that reflects their technical structure
- Providing regulatory guidance that distinguishes between software infrastructure and traditional financial intermediaries
7/ I’m honored to work alongside an exceptional founding team: Policy Counsel @Brad_Bourque_ and Policy Director @SalahGhazzal.
— Jake Chervinsky (@jchervinsky) February 18, 2026
HPC is also hiring.
If you want to help shape the future of the global financial system, join us:https://t.co/BgQiAmF7m2
Why Perpetuals Matter
Perpetual futures are the bread and butter of crypto derivatives. Unlike traditional futures, they don’t expire. Unlike options, they’re simpler to understand and provide more direct exposure to underlying assets. Chervinsky argues they’re categorically superior to legacy derivative structures.
The numbers support the importance. Hyperliquid alone processes $6-10 billion in daily trading volume. The platform has become one of the largest derivatives venues in crypto, rivaling centralized exchanges like Binance and Coinbase in volume terms.
But all of that activity happens offshore. U.S. traders are excluded. U.S. developers building in this space face legal uncertainty. Capital that could be deployed domestically flows elsewhere.
The Broader Context
Crypto’s Washington presence has expanded dramatically. The DeFi Education Fund, Blockchain Association, and various project-specific advocacy groups have established lobbying operations. But Chervinsky argues there’s a distinct gap. Most advocacy has been defensive: fighting enforcement actions, opposing harmful legislation, pushing back on SEC overreach. The Hyperliquid Policy Center is taking a different approach: proactive engagement to write new rules rather than just blocking bad ones.
| Metric | Detail |
|---|---|
| Funding | 1 million HYPE tokens (~$28 million) |
| CEO | Jake Chervinsky (former Blockchain Association, Variant) |
| Hyperliquid Daily Volume | $6-10 billion (perpetuals) |
| Focus | DeFi regulation, perpetual derivatives framework |
What This Means
A $28 million policy operation signals that Hyperliquid sees regulatory clarity as existential. The platform cannot scale into mainstream finance without a legal pathway. Building that pathway requires sustained presence in Washington.
The HYPE token funding mechanism is notable. Rather than raising from traditional sources, the foundation is using protocol treasury assets. The community’s token holdings are directly funding regulatory advocacy.
The next chapter of DeFi regulation in the United States may look very different because of what gets built in this Washington office.
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