MAS Says Hyperliquid Falls Outside Singapore's Jurisdiction as Firm Confirms City-State HQ

Published October 8, 2026, 09:35 UTC. Reporting via the Financial Times, covered by Blockhead, crypto.news, Coinotag and Coin Edition.

Singapore's central bank does not consider Hyperliquid, one of crypto's largest perpetual futures venues, to be a Singapore-based business, and says the platform sits outside its regulatory perimeter. The Monetary Authority of Singapore communicated its position to the Financial Times, which reported it on October 7, citing people familiar with the regulator's thinking. MAS told the paper it was "not aware that Hyperliquid is regulated in any major jurisdiction."

The statement lands awkwardly against the company's own confirmation. Hyperliquid Labs told the Financial Times that its registered headquarters is in Singapore, corporate documents reviewed by the paper list the city-state as its registered headquarters, and recent job postings point to an office there. The team, led by co-founder Jeff Yan, relocated to Singapore in 2024 and numbers about 11 people, according to crypto.news.

MAS draws a decentralization line

The regulator's distinction rests on how the platform is built, not where the company sits. MAS treats Hyperliquid's decentralised character, trades settling on-chain while users keep control of their funds, as putting the trading service itself beyond its reach, even though Hyperliquid Labs acknowledges it is registered in Singapore. Hyperliquid told the Financial Times it has never claimed to hold an MAS license or authorisation and does not hold one now, adding that it respects regulators' roles and intends to keep engaging with the authorities constructively.

The gap matters because Singapore's rules for crypto firms based in the country are strict. Since June 30, 2025, Singapore-based firms providing digital token services solely to overseas customers have needed a licence under the Financial Services and Markets Act, licences MAS said it would grant only in extremely limited circumstances, Blockhead reported. By declining jurisdiction, MAS is treating the company's Singapore registration as separate from the venue itself.

The June 26 warning that started it

This is not the first time MAS has flagged the platform. On June 26 the regulator added Hyperliquid to its Investor Alert List, a public register of entities the public might wrongly assume are MAS-licensed. Hyperliquid responded at the time that the listing "does not constitute a ban, an enforcement action or a finding of wrongdoing," and described itself as permissionless infrastructure.

That description has drawn fire from inside the industry. Kyle Samani, chairman of Forward Industries, publicly disputed the framing days after the June listing, telling his followers, "Hyperliquid is not permissionless. Stop gaslighting the public," according to Coin Edition's account of the exchange.

What the gap means for traders

For users, the practical picture is unchanged for now: trading continues, but without the investor-protection framework a Singapore licence would carry. The perpetual futures traded on the platform already fell outside MAS regulation when the June warning was issued, and the Financial Times position confirms that has not changed. Meanwhile, the company's US ambitions are moving through regulated channels: Payward, the operator of Kraken, has proposed regulated Hyperliquid-based markets for eligible US customers, subject to approval, crypto.news reported.

This article is news reporting and is not investment advice.

Sources

• Financial Times reporting, via Blockhead (Oct. 7, 2026), primary source
• crypto.news, Hyperliquid confirms Singapore base as MAS says it falls outside its remit (Oct. 7, 2026)
• Coinotag, Hyperliquid (HYPE) Deemed Outside MAS Regulatory Reach (Oct. 7, 2026)
• Coin Edition, Hyperliquid Confirms Singapore Registration Without MAS License (Oct. 7, 2026)