The non-profit Hyperliquid Foundation has announced the establishment of the Hyperliquid Policy Center, a political entity aimed at advancing DeFi interests in the United States.
The Hyper Foundation will contribute 1M HYPE tokens to support the creation of the Hyperliquid Policy Center.
The tokens will be unstaked later today. The Hyperliquid community will benefit from having representation in Washington, D.C., and we are confident that under… https://t.co/Vgo95Nrr17
— Hyperliquid (@HyperliquidX) February 18, 2026
“The community will benefit from representation in Washington, and we are confident that under Jake Chervinsky’s leadership, the Hyperliquid Policy Center will significantly influence clear regulation of decentralized finance,” the platform’s statement reads.
Chervinsky previously led the legal department at Variant Fund and remains an advisor there. He also serves on the board of the lobbying organization Blockchain Association.
To launch the initiative, the foundation donated 1 million HYPE tokens valued at approximately $29 million. The tokens will be unlocked on February 18.
The DEX team stated its intention to acquaint lawmakers with the platform and bridge the “gap between legal norms and next-generation market infrastructure.”
The Hyperliquid Policy Center promised to tackle the most challenging regulatory issues facing the derivatives and decentralized finance sectors.
“We will publish technical research, comment on proposed regulations and legislative initiatives, and serve as a resource for policymakers who want to understand how DeFi truly operates,” representatives of the new structure added.
HYPE Reaction and Hyperliquid Metrics
The native token of Hyperliquid, HYPE, did not react to the news. Over the past 24 hours, the token’s price has fallen by 3.7%. At the time of writing, it is trading around $29.
The decentralized exchange remains the leader in the segment by open interest. The platform’s figure exceeds $5 billion, while its nearest competitor, Aster, stands at $1.7 billion.
Hyperliquid also ranks first among perp-DEX in trading volume. In the past 24 hours, turnover reached $5.4 billion, and $256.3 billion over the month.
The platform regained its dominant position thanks to the launch of user markets HIP-3. In early February, daily trading volume in this segment reached $5.2 billion, driven by a rally in the precious metals market.
As of mid-month, the figure stood at $261 million.
Earlier, Hyperliquid developers supported the HIP-4 proposal, which involves launching prediction markets on the platform.