Can You Use Hyperliquid in the UK?

1. What Hyperliquid's Terms say about the UK

The UK appears in Hyperliquid's Terms of Use only as a legal venue: disputes are governed by English law, with LCIA arbitration in London (§11.4). It is not one of the Restricted Persons in §1.6, which names only the United States, Ontario and sanctioned territories. So a UK resident is not barred by the contract the way an American is.

That is where the good news ends. §1.3 says neither the interface nor Hyperliquid is licensed or registered by any regulator anywhere, and §1.9 makes you responsible for checking whether leveraged trading is lawful for you. For the UK, the regulator has already answered part of that question publicly.

2. Hyperliquid, Lighter, Aster and edgeX in the UK

The UK is where the four venues we review disagree most:

Clauses: Hyperliquid §1.6, Lighter's Prohibited Person (b) clause under “Access and Restrictions”, Aster §2.1(c), edgeX §1.5; all four Terms re-read on October 20, 2026. “Not named” only means the place is not on that venue's list. It is not a licence and says nothing about local law. trade.xyz, which deploys most stock and commodity perps on Hyperliquid, also excludes the United Kingdom (its Terms §2.2(a), last updated September 6, 2026).

Lighter and Aster put the UK in the same clause as the US and Canada, so UK residents are excluded from both. edgeX's §1.5 does not mention the UK at all. None of the four is authorised by the FCA, and “not named” in a venue's Terms is a statement about that venue's contract, not about UK law.

3. What the FCA said

The Warning List entry for Hyperliquid

“This firm may be providing or promoting financial services or products without our permission. You should avoid dealing with this firm and beware of scams.” … “This firm is not authorised by us and may be targeting people in the UK.”

FCA Warning List, “Hyperliquid”, first published May 21, 2026, last updated June 7, 2026; websites listed: hyperfoundation.org and app.hyperliquid.xyz. fca.org.uk/news/warnings/hyperliquid (read October 20, 2026).

The FCA uses the same wording for many unauthorised firms; the entry does not accuse Hyperliquid of fraud. What it does is tell UK consumers that the firm has no UK permission and that UK protections will not apply.

The retail ban on crypto derivatives (PS20/10)

“We believe that retail consumers can’t reliably assess the value and risks of derivatives (contracts for difference, futures and options) and exchange traded notes (ETNs) that reference certain cryptoassets.”

FCA PS20/10, published October 6, 2020, rules in force January 6, 2021; the ban applies to firms that carry out “marketing, distribution or selling activities in, or from, the UK” to retail clients. PS20/10 page (read October 20, 2026). The FCA is consulting on lifting the part on crypto exchange traded notes only.

So a UK retail client cannot get crypto perpetuals from an FCA-authorised firm at all; the products UK readers find are offered from abroad, without UK permission.

The crypto promotions regime (FSMA section 21)

“Promotions that are not made using one of these routes will be in breach of section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA), which is a criminal offence punishable by up to 2 years imprisonment, an unlimited fine, or both.”

FCA, “Cryptoasset firms marketing to UK consumers”: the regime applies from October 8, 2023 “regardless of whether the firm is based overseas”. fca.org.uk (read October 20, 2026).

That rule is aimed at whoever communicates a promotion, which is why this page, unlike our pages for most other countries, carries no referral code, sign-up button or sticky banner.

4. The app's UK mode

The web app runs a location check (legalCheck) on each connection. One of its answers is a UK mode: for UK visitors the app hides outcome markets and shows a notice instead of the referral page. According to the app's code (checked October 15, 2026), the referrals page and any /join/ link show a “referrals restricted” notice with a button back to trading, and outcome markets are hidden, while perpetuals stay enabled. We have not tested this from a UK connection.

The practical effect: a referral code cannot be added from the UK, and links on other sites that promise a UK discount do not work as described. Do not try to make the app think you are elsewhere; §3.1.5 of the Terms prohibits using VPNs or proxies to conceal your location.

5. What UK users give up

• No Financial Ombudsman Service: complaints have nowhere to go in the UK; the Terms send disputes to arbitration under the LCIA rules in London.
• No FSCS: if a venue fails, UK compensation does not apply.
• No UK product rules: PS20/10 exists because the FCA thinks retail clients cannot reliably assess crypto derivatives at all, while Hyperliquid offers up to 40x leverage on BTC.

6. Tax (HMRC)

We do not give tax advice. HMRC's guidance on cryptoassets is the Cryptoassets Manual.

7. FAQ: Hyperliquid in the UK

About this page: the site earns referral commissions from Hyperliquid and other venues on other pages; this page has none. Terms quotes are from app.hyperliquid.xyz/terms (last updated June 15, 2026) and the Lighter, Aster, edgeX and trade.xyz Terms, re-read October 20, 2026; the FCA Warning List entry, PS20/10 and the crypto promotions page were read the same day; the app's UK mode comes from its published code (October 15, 2026). This is not legal or tax advice; for your own situation, ask a UK solicitor.