Stan Druckenmiller backs trade.xyz, ICE partnership targets US perpetual futures

Stan Druckenmiller, the billionaire investor and founder of Duquesne Capital Management, has confirmed his investment in trade.xyz, a platform specializing in perpetual futures on real-world assets. Druckenmiller announced the move on X early Thursday morning, stating that he plans to use trade.xyz’s offerings in his own investment strategy, though he did not disclose the size or terms of his stake.

ICE partnership aims to expand perpetual futures

Trade.xyz revealed its new collaboration with Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the global financial services company that owns the New York Stock Exchange. Under the agreement, ICE will take a minority stake in trade.xyz and serve as the exclusive operator of the platform’s regulated markets, maintaining a clear distinction from ICE’s institutional futures and clearing operations.

“We see these perp markets as additive to our futures markets, not a replacement for them,” stated Jeffrey Sprecher, Chair and CEO of ICE, in a public announcement.

“We see these perp markets as additive to our futures markets, not a replacement for them,” said Jeffrey Sprecher, Chair and CEO of ICE.

The partnership aims to introduce 24/7 perpetual futures trading for US-based customers, leveraging trade.xyz’s integration with Hyperliquid’s infrastructure. This move would allow continuous trading on a wide array of assets, subject to regulatory approvals.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and X, later amplified Druckenmiller’s news by reposting his statement with the single word “Interesting,” drawing significant public attention to the announcement.

Perpetual futures and HIP-3 open interest

Trade.xyz operates perpetual futures for stocks, commodities, and other assets using HIP-3, a protocol built by Hyperliquid that enables third-party teams to create their own perpetual markets. Kain Warwick, founder of Synthetix and Infinex, commented in August that trade.xyz facilitated 90% of the total open interest in HIP-3 markets, underscoring the platform’s market share in this segment.

Mini dictionary: HIP-3 is a protocol introduced by Hyperliquid, allowing external teams to build their own perpetual futures markets, supporting a wider variety of trading products and assets.

Trade.xyz has become prominent among platforms seeking to tokenize and trade real-world assets on blockchain-based protocols. Its collaboration with ICE aims to extend this model to mainstream US markets once all required approvals are secured.

Regulatory path and next steps

Currently, trade.xyz’s US market initiative remains on hold until it secures all necessary regulatory clearances. ICE’s announcement clarified that nothing has launched in the United States yet, emphasizing that US operations will begin only after green lights from authorities. Trade.xyz specifically referenced the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in its communication, stating that US access is dependent on the agency’s approval.

Once approved, users meeting identification requirements are expected to access the platform’s markets via futures commission merchants that join the network. The arrangement would leverage ICE’s experience in running regulated marketplaces while aiming to expand the offering of perpetual futures to a broader US audience.

The ICE and trade.xyz partnership seeks to bring 24/7 perpetual futures markets to the US, with regulatory approval as the next milestone.