Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) CEO Jeffrey Sprecher has confirmed multiple meetings with Hyperliquid’s founders and publicly described the decentralised exchange as larger than NASDAQ by trading activity—the clearest signal yet that the NYSE’s parent company is actively evaluating an entry into the onchain perpetuals market.
Sprecher made the disclosure during a fireside chat at the Bernstein 42nd Annual Strategic Decisions Conference in New York on May 27, addressing a sector that has drawn both admiration and regulatory pressure from Wall Street’s established exchange operators.
“The people that have built that exchange are extremely smart, and that is a true DeFi exchange,” Sprecher told the audience.
“If you haven’t heard about it, it’s bigger than NASDAQ, okay? It’s 11 people. You look at it, you’re like, wow, that’s pretty something.”
Not a Rival — A Reference Point
Sprecher positioned ICE’s engagement with Hyperliquid as collaborative rather than combative.
“We’re not freaked out about it. We’re actually talking to these people and learning about it. We’re helping them understand our world. They’re helping us understand their world. So in that sense, a joint admiration.”
The remarks mark a notable shift. Two weeks prior, Bloomberg reported that ICE and CME Group had raised concerns with the CFTC and Capitol Hill lawmakers about Hyperliquid’s role in potential market manipulation and sanctions evasion, with oil benchmarks a specific focus. Sprecher reframed those conversations as exploratory inquiries into whether ICE could build equivalent products under existing rules.
ICE’s attention sharpened around energy markets specifically, after JPMorgan analysts noted a surge in non-crypto traders using Hyperliquid’s 24/7 markets for oil exposure during weekends when traditional exchanges are closed. In response, ICE has moved to narrow that window by extending its own Friday and Monday trading hours.
The Regulatory Question ICE Wants Answered
The legal asymmetry is Sprecher’s core argument. ICE operates under Title VII of Dodd-Frank; Hyperliquid, incorporated offshore, does not.
“What we are saying to the regulators is, ‘Can we do that?’ Why are you prohibiting us from doing this when it’s already happening? And can’t we have a level playing field?” he said.
He added that policymakers must choose between creating a new category for regulated perpetual futures or pulling offshore venues into Dodd-Frank and equivalent EU and Japanese frameworks.
ICE has simultaneously moved to participate in the onchain market directly, announcing a partnership with OKX last week to launch perpetual Brent Crude and WTI contracts. The exchange has also invested in OKX at a $25 billion valuation and secured a board seat. The Hyper Foundation’s $29 million Hyperliquid Policy Center has been making a parallel case in Washington for a domestic legal framework for onchain derivatives, while S&P Dow Jones Indices’ licensing of the S&P 500 to TradeXYZ for a perpetual contract on Hyperliquid’s blockchain earlier this year signalled institutional confidence in the platform’s infrastructure. HYPE climbed nearly 12% to $66 following Sprecher’s remarks.
