Hyperliquid’s New Policy Center: Saving Washington?

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In a world where the only thing more chaotic than a toddler with a crayon is the regulatory landscape for decentralized finance, Hyperliquid has launched a new policy center in Washington-because nothing says “I’m serious about crypto” like hiring a team to explain blockchain to lawmakers who still think the internet is a “vague concept.”

Summary

  • Hyperliquid’s Hyperliquid Policy Center (HPC) is here to turn “decentralized finance” into “decentralized confusion” for Congress. Because why have clear rules when you can have 100 pages of jargon?
  • HPC’s main focus? Perpetual derivatives, blockchain infrastructure, and the existential question of whether a ledger can be both “decentralized” and “regulated.”

According to a Feb. 18 announcement, HPC aims to “advance a clear, regulated path for decentralized finance to thrive in the U.S.” Which is just code for “we’re tired of lawmakers treating crypto like a magic trick we’re supposed to guess the secret of.”

To achieve this, HPC will produce “rigorous technical research” and “practical regulatory frameworks.” Because nothing says “practical” like a document that’s 500 pages long and written in a language that’s half Latin, half emoji.

The leader? Jake Chervinsky, a crypto policy veteran who’s probably already drafted a 100-page memo on how to regulate a blockchain. His résumé includes roles at Variant, the Blockchain Association, and Compound Labs-because nothing says “expertise” like working at a company named after a type of cheese.

Chervinsky, in an X post, lamented that “U.S. financial regulations weren’t written for decentralized tech like Hyperliquid.” Which is true-unless you count the 1930s, when regulators were busy figuring out how to regulate the stock market and had no idea the internet existed. But hey, at least now they can add “blockchain” to their list of things they don’t understand.

The Hyper Foundation, a group that clearly has more tokens than sense, has pledged 1 million Hyperliquid tokens to fund the HPC. Because what’s a policy center without a little cryptocurrency-fueled ambition?

Advocacy Groups Assemble… for More Confusion

As the crypto industry matures, it’s clear that one-size-fits-all lobbying is as outdated as a rotary phone. Now, it’s all about “surgical, sector-specific lobbying”-a fancy way of saying “we’ll target the exact laws that make us uncomfortable.”

Last year, Ethereum protocols like Aave, Uniswap, and Lido formed the Ethereum Protocol Advocacy Alliance. Because nothing says “unity” like a group of companies that all have their own agendas but somehow think they’re on the same team.

Meanwhile, the Digital Chamber launched the Prediction Markets Working Group, which is basically a fancy way of saying “let’s try to get the CFTC to stop treating prediction markets like they’re illegal poker games.” Because if there’s one thing the U.S. government loves, it’s regulating things it doesn’t understand.

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2026-02-19 10:53