---
type: source
title: "Hyperliquid launches Washington D.C. Policy Center with $29M HYPE token backing — community-funded regulatory lobbying"
author: "CoinDesk"
url: https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/02/18/hyperliquid-starts-defi-lobbying-group-with-usd29-million-token-backing
date: 2026-02-18
domain: internet-finance
secondary_domains: []
format: article
status: processed
processed_by: rio
processed_date: 2026-04-07
priority: medium
tags: [hyperliquid, lobbying, regulation, ownership-alignment, defi, policy, hype-token]
extraction_model: "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5"
---

## Content

February 18, 2026: Hyperliquid launched the Hyperliquid Policy Center, a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit, funded with $29M worth of HYPE tokens.

**Purpose:** Regulatory frameworks for DEXs, perpetual futures, and blockchain-based market infrastructure.

**Funding mechanism:** Community-owned protocol funding regulatory advocacy directly from protocol revenue/token reserves. The $29M represents a direct allocation of community-owned value toward a public good (favorable regulation).

**Context:**
- Hyperliquid: community-owned perpetuals DEX, no VC allocation, HYPE distributed to users
- HYPE token holders benefit from protocol revenue
- Policy Center creates a regulatory moat: Hyperliquid invests in frameworks that legitimize DEX perpetuals, which primarily benefits Hyperliquid as the market leader

Sources:
- CoinDesk: https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/02/18/hyperliquid-starts-defi-lobbying-group-with-usd29-million-token-backing
- Fortune: https://fortune.com/crypto/2026/01/12/hyperliquid-jeff-yan-defi-perpetuals-perps-decentralization-growing-up/

## Agent Notes
**Why this matters:** Community-funded regulatory lobbying is a novel mechanism for ownership-aligned protocols to invest in their competitive moat. The $29M Policy Center is funded by HYPE token value — which comes from protocol revenue — which comes from trader fees — which benefits HYPE holders. The alignment chain connects regulatory investment to token holder returns.

**What surprised me:** The $29M scale. This is substantial lobbying capital — comparable to what major financial incumbents spend on regulatory influence. A DEX with no VC backing allocated $29M of community-owned value to Washington lobbying. This suggests community ownership generates enough capital surplus to fund activities that VC-backed protocols typically defer to their VCs.

**What I expected but didn't find:** Specific regulatory priorities beyond generic "DEX perpetuals." The Policy Center's specific legislative targets would be more interesting. Are they focused on CLARITY Act support? CFTC jurisdiction over DEX perps? Something else?

**KB connections:**
- "ownership alignment turns network effects from extractive to generative" — Policy Center is an example where community ownership enables regulatory investment that a VC-backed protocol might not prioritize (VCs extract, don't reinvest in public goods)
- The Hyperliquid Ripple Prime integration (same week, early Feb 2026) — the pairing of institutional prime brokerage access AND regulatory lobbying in the same month suggests Hyperliquid is executing a two-track strategy: capture institutional liquidity + shape the regulatory environment

**Extraction hints:** The $29M community-funded lobbying is evidence for a specific mechanism: community-owned protocols can allocate value toward public goods (favorable regulation) that benefit the entire protocol ecosystem, whereas VC-backed protocols extract value from the ecosystem rather than reinvesting in it. This extends the "extractive vs. generative network effects" claim to the regulatory domain.

**Context:** Hyperliquid's timing is strategic: the CFTC ANPRM on prediction markets (March 2026) and CLARITY Act discussion (2026 Congressional session) both directly affect DEX perpetuals regulation. The Policy Center launch positions Hyperliquid to participate in the regulatory process as an advocate, not just a subject.

## Curator Notes (structured handoff for extractor)
PRIMARY CONNECTION: ownership alignment turns network effects from extractive to generative
WHY ARCHIVED: $29M community-funded regulatory lobbying is a novel mechanism where ownership alignment enables public goods investment; pairs with Ripple Prime integration as evidence for the Belief #4 mechanism chain
EXTRACTION HINT: The extractor should focus on the mechanism: community ownership → protocol surplus → regulatory investment → favorable framework → moat for token holders. This is a specific extension of the "generative network effects" claim to the regulatory domain.
