According to founder and CEO Star Xu, the exchange’s Web3 division built a Hyperliquid-style system back in 2023 and tested it internally. Xu admitted on X that the project was essentially complete but never made it to mainnet, citing regulatory uncertainty as the reason.

Onchain Perps in the Spotlight

The decision came as decentralized perpetuals venues started making waves in DeFi. Hyperliquid, which launched in 2024, quickly climbed to the top of the sector, booking nearly $320 billion in trading volume in its best month. Aster, a newcomer backed by YZi Labs, also entered the field this year and has already recorded more than $22 billion in activity in just 30 days, DefiLlama data shows.

Xu praised the rise of these platforms, noting that Hyperliquid proved small teams can achieve outsized results. But he stressed that OKX couldn’t ignore the risk of enforcement, especially after the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission cracked down on Deridex in 2023 for offering unregistered derivatives products. That same case also targeted protocols Opyn and ZeroEx.

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Changing Policy Winds

The regulatory environment may now be shifting. Since the start of President Donald Trump’s new term, the CFTC has taken a more open approach to digital assets. The agency recently expanded its Global Markets Advisory Committee to include several industry figures, while a July White House policy paper recommended the CFTC share crypto oversight duties with the SEC, including spot market supervision.

Even so, Xu suggested that regulatory clarity has yet to arrive. Until it does, OKX’s perps platform will stay on the shelf – a reminder that innovation in crypto often moves faster than the rulebook.

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