Hyper Foundation Backs New DC Lobby with 1M HYPE for Clearer DeFi Rules

Hyperliquid, the largest on-chain perpetual futures exchange by trading volumes, said it is backing a new Washington-based policy organization with 1 million HYPE tokens (around $29 million at current prices), as crypto firms try to influence U.S. rules for decentralized finance.

According to a press release published today, Feb. 18, the so-called “Hyperliquid Policy Center” — or just HPC — received the tokens from the Hyper Foundation and plans to use them to produce research and lobby for practical regulations on decentralized markets. The foundation is an independent organization that supports the development of the Hyperliquid ecosystem, per the release.

“We will publish technical research, comment on proposed rules and legislation, and serve as a resource for policymakers who want to understand how DeFi really works,” the new organization said in an X post today.

Jake Chervinsky, a long-standing crypto policy lawyer and former chief policy officer at the Blockchain Association, will lead the organization as founder and CEO.

“HPC exists to ensure that American entrepreneurs, consumers, and institutions have the regulatory clarity they need to build and benefit from the future of finance,” Chervinsky said in the release.

The Hyperliquid Policy Center also said it will “introduce lawmakers and regulators to Hyperliquid” and push for clear rules on DeFi.

Despite the news, HYPE is trading down 1% on the day at around $29.10, per CoinGecko data.

In the past 24 hours, Hyperliquid processed nearly $5.4 billion in trades, and open interest on the platform currently stands at over $5 billion, per data from DefiLlama. Perps trading on Hyperliquid surged in 2025, with monthly volumes reaching an all-time high of nearly $400 billion in July.

While the perp DEX mania that took off last year was mostly dominated by Hyperliquid, competitors like Aster and Lighter also saw rapid growth.