Regulated Major Exchanges Ditching Self-Built Chains? Kraken Reportedly Testing Hyperliquid’s Permissioned HIP-3, Community Debates Practical Pathways for Crypto Infrastructure

Hyperliquid’s testnet has recently added compliance operation control features including whitelisting, forced liquidation, and collateral transfer. A node named "Kraken HIP-3 test DEX" has activated these permissioned features, whitelisted 10 wallets, and registered the "Kraken Exchange Validator". While the testnet supports permissionless deployment and full attribution cannot be confirmed, combined with Kraken parent company Payward’s licensing arrangements for xStocks and U.S. derivatives, the community widely interprets this as likely the first major compliant CEX to seriously adapt to Hyperliquid’s permissioned HIP-3 framework. What has sparked even more discussion is the contrast here: Kraken itself has incubated its own Ethereum Layer 2 "Ink", yet it chose to test compliance modules on Hyperliquid, a high-performance perpetual infrastructure long viewed as "not fully compliant". Analysts believe this is not a simple "abandonment of its own chain", but a pragmatic choice: the HIP-3+Star optional modules allow CEXs to quickly access verified order book and margin systems while retaining control over KYC and account-level risk control. Hyperliquid is being repositioned as a neutral underlying trading infrastructure, where permissioned and permissionless layers coexist in isolation. Whoever integrates the compliance modules will gain access to institutional liquidity in the next phase. This remains in the testing stage, with neither side having made an official announcement.