Trump Pushes Congress on Clarity Act as Hyperliquid Eyes U.S. Entry

Trump called on Congress to pass a "fair version" of the Clarity Act during a White House crypto meeting on August 19, saying his administration's regulators are working to bring Hyperliquid into the United States under a compliant framework.

The Clarity Act would draw a statutory line between tokens that function as securities and those that operate as commodities. That distinction has kept platforms like Hyperliquid — which offers perpetual futures with on-chain order books — from serving U.S. users directly. HYPE, the platform's native token, traded at $70.02 on August 19, up 6.1% in the past 24 hours and 9.5% over the past seven days, according to CoinGecko data. Daily volume reached $802.2 million, and market capitalization stood at $15.58 billion, ranking the asset tenth globally.

What the legislation would change

The bill would assign primary oversight of commodity tokens to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission while leaving security tokens under the Securities and Exchange Commission. Current enforcement relies on the Howey test, a case-by-case framework that has produced inconsistent outcomes for decentralized protocols. A statutory definition would give exchanges and market makers a clear compliance path.

Market data shows hyperliquid's on-chain order book processes roughly $1 billion in daily notional volume across perpetual markets. The platform has operated without a U.S. entity, citing regulatory uncertainty. Bringing it onshore would require registration with the CFTC as a designated contract market or swap execution facility, plus compliance with anti-money-laundering rules under the Bank Secrecy Act.

Market context and price action

Total crypto market capitalization rose 5.04% to $2.41 trillion on August 19, with 24-hour volume of $84.7 billion, CoinGecko data shows. Bitcoin dominance held at 56.9%, while Ethereum dominance sat at 10.5%. HYPE's 7-day price series shows a steady climb from $57.15 to $58.19 before the August 19 move to $70.02.

Market data shows | BTC Dominance | 56.9% | — | — |

Procedural path ahead

The Clarity Act has passed committee in previous sessions but stalled before a floor vote. A new version would need sponsorship in both the House and Senate, markup in relevant committees, and 60 votes in the Senate to overcome a filibuster. The administration has not released legislative text. Comment periods for any CFTC rulemaking on platform registration typically run 60 to 90 days after proposal.

Market data shows traders are watching whether HYPE sustains above $68, the prior local high from July. A break could signal confidence that U.S. Market data shows access is priced in; a retrace toward $58 would suggest the move was speculative.