India is not named in Hyperliquid's Terms of Use (last updated June 15, 2026), and Hyperliquid has not been named in FIU-IND's published notices to offshore platforms. But it is not registered with FIU-IND, and FIU-IND says offshore platforms serving Indian users must register. We do not give a legal or illegal verdict.
Regulator: FIU-IND's October 1, 2025 release says the duty to register is “activity-based” and not tied to physical presence in India (quote).
Other venues: Lighter, Aster and edgeX do not name India either (table).
Terms re-read and FIU-IND and ASCI sources read October 20, 2026.
Who this is for: adults in India who are not US persons, not in Ontario and not citizens or residents of a sanctioned territory, and who accept the risks below. Hyperliquid is not registered with FIU-IND.
Crypto products and NFTs are unregulated and can be highly risky. There may be no regulatory recourse for any loss from such transactions.
Trading on Hyperliquid needs an account, and the referral code has to be in place before you trade: open the join link in the browser you will trade in, then make your first deposit and Enable Trading there. A code can no longer be added once an account has more than $10,000 of trading volume.
India appears nowhere in Hyperliquid's Terms of Use. The Restricted Persons clause (§1.6) covers the United States, Ontario and sanctioned territories, so an Indian resident is not excluded by the contract. The questions people in India actually ask, whether it is allowed and whether the site will be blocked, are answered by Indian rules rather than by the Terms.
On that side the Terms are candid: §1.3 says Hyperliquid is not licensed, approved or registered anywhere, and §1.9 says it is your job to check that leveraged trading is permitted for you. In India the relevant registration is with the Financial Intelligence Unit.
2. Hyperliquid, Lighter, Aster and edgeX in India
India under each venue's own Terms
Where you are
HyperliquidTerms of Use, June 15, 2026
LighterTerms of Service, December 29, 2025
AsterTerms and Conditions, February 25, 2026
edgeXTerms of Use, March 24, 2026
India
Not named
Not named
Not named
Not named
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.
None of the four names India, and none says it is registered with FIU-IND. Indian users therefore face the same regulatory question on each of them; switching venue does not answer it.
3. What FIU-IND said
“The Virtual Digital Asset Service Providers (VDA SPs) operating in India (whether offshore or onshore) … are required to be registered with FIU IND as Reporting Entity … These obligations are activity-based and are not contingent on physical presence of the entity in India.”
Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Finance, October 1, 2025: “Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU IND) issues notices for non-compliance to 25 offshore Virtual Digital Assets Service providers (VDA SPs) under Section 13 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PML) Act, 2002”. pib.gov.in, PRID 2173758 (read October 20, 2026).
The release named 25 offshore platforms, among them BingX, BitMEX, CoinEx, Paxful, Phemex and Poloniex, and said FIU-IND had also issued notices under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act to take down their apps and URLs. It added that 50 platforms had registered with FIU-IND by then. Hyperliquid, Lighter, Aster and edgeX were not named.
What this means in practice: FIU-IND's rule is aimed at platforms, and its tools so far have been compliance notices and URL takedown notices for named ones. Hyperliquid has not been named, but it also does not meet the registration rule FIU-IND applies to offshore platforms, so its status can change with one release.
4. The ASCI advertising rules
India's Advertising Standards Council framed guidelines for virtual digital asset advertising on February 23, 2022, applying to ads released on or after April 1, 2022. Every such ad must carry this disclaimer, “PROMINENT and UNMISSABLE by an average consumer”:
“Crypto products and NFTs are unregulated and can be highly risky. There may be no regulatory recourse for any loss from such transactions.”
ASCI press release, Mumbai, February 23, 2022. ascionline.in (PDF) (read October 20, 2026).
The guidelines also bar ads from promising profits, from presenting trading as an answer to money problems and from making it look so easy that readers would not think twice. Our referral boxes on this page follow that: the disclaimer sits inside each box, the box names who publishes it and how to reach us, and the fee information is stated with its limits. Perpetual futures use leverage, and you can lose your whole margin quickly.
5. What the app does for Indian connections
Not tested. We have not connected to the Hyperliquid app from India and do not know which legalCheck mode it returns there. If the app ever blocks Indian connections, the Terms' clause against hiding your location (§3.1.5) applies.
6. Funding an account from India
Hyperliquid accepts USDC. An eligible reader would buy USDC on an exchange registered with FIU-IND, withdraw it to a self-custody wallet on Arbitrum and deposit at least 5 USDC through the Hyperliquid bridge. Keep records of every transfer. The deposit guide covers each step.
Who this is for: adults in India who are not US persons, not in Ontario and not citizens or residents of a sanctioned territory, and who accept the risks below. Hyperliquid is not registered with FIU-IND.
Crypto products and NFTs are unregulated and can be highly risky. There may be no regulatory recourse for any loss from such transactions.
If you decide to use it: open the account before your first deposit
Trading on Hyperliquid needs an account, and the referral code has to be in place before you trade: open the join link in the browser you will trade in, then make your first deposit and Enable Trading there. A code can no longer be added once an account has more than $10,000 of trading volume.
The code takes 4% off your trading fees on your first $25M of volume; we earn a share of the fees of accounts that join with it.
Published by the Cipher Intelligence Editorial Team (contact @bltzman on X). Not an exchange, broker or adviser.
7. Tax
We do not give tax advice. The Income Tax Department's text of Section 115BBH covers income from the transfer of virtual digital assets; how it applies to perpetual futures is a question for a chartered accountant.
8. FAQ: Hyperliquid in India
Is Hyperliquid legal in India?
We do not give a legal or illegal verdict, and no Indian authority has published one about Hyperliquid. The facts: India is not named in Hyperliquid's Terms of Use (last updated June 15, 2026); Hyperliquid says it holds no registration with any regulator (§1.3), which includes FIU-IND; and FIU-IND's position is that offshore platforms serving Indian users must register.
Is Hyperliquid banned in India?
Not by name. FIU-IND's release of October 1, 2025 named 25 offshore platforms and asked for their apps and URLs to be taken down; Hyperliquid was not one of them. FIU-IND can name more platforms in later releases, so check FIU-IND and PIB releases before you rely on it.
Is Hyperliquid registered with FIU-IND?
No. Hyperliquid's own Terms state that neither the interface nor Hyperliquid is registered with any governmental authority or regulatory body in any jurisdiction (§1.3). FIU-IND said 50 platforms had registered by its October 1, 2025 release; Hyperliquid is not claiming to be one of them.
Could the Hyperliquid website be blocked in India?
For the platforms it named, FIU-IND used its powers under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act to issue takedown notices for their apps and URLs. Hyperliquid has not been named so far. If its site were ever blocked, do not try to get around the block: Hyperliquid's Terms also prohibit hiding your location (§3.1.5).
What is the ASCI disclaimer on this page?
India's Advertising Standards Council requires every advertisement for virtual digital asset products and exchanges released on or after April 1, 2022 to carry a fixed disclaimer, prominently. We show it in full next to each referral link on this page.
Can I use Lighter, Aster or edgeX from India?
None of them names India in its Terms, and none is registered with FIU-IND as far as their own documents say. The same FIU-IND reasoning about offshore platforms applies to them.
Which tax rules apply to Hyperliquid trades in India?
We do not give tax advice. The Income Tax Department publishes the provisions on income from virtual digital assets, including Section 115BBH; ask a chartered accountant how they apply to perpetual futures.
Who this is for: adults in India who are not US persons, not in Ontario and not citizens or residents of a sanctioned territory, and who accept the risks below. Hyperliquid is not registered with FIU-IND.
Crypto products and NFTs are unregulated and can be highly risky. There may be no regulatory recourse for any loss from such transactions.
Trading on Hyperliquid needs an account, and the referral code has to be in place before you trade: open the join link in the browser you will trade in, then make your first deposit and Enable Trading there. A code can no longer be added once an account has more than $10,000 of trading volume.
Disclosure: this page is published by the Cipher Intelligence Editorial Team (contact @bltzman on X). HOLYGRAIL is our Hyperliquid referral code; we earn a share of the fees of accounts that join with it, and it never raises yours. Hyperliquid's Terms (last updated June 15, 2026) and the Lighter, Aster and edgeX Terms were re-read October 20, 2026; the PIB release of October 1, 2025 and the ASCI guidelines were read the same day; FIU-IND releases after that one are not covered here until we have read them. This is not legal, financial or tax advice.