---

Silhouette, a non-custodial universal block trading layer built on Hyperliquid, launched request-for-quote (RFQ) trading for xStocks on September 1, 2026, giving traders a way to execute large orders in tokenized equities without exposing their intent to the broader market. The launch targets a structural gap in on-chain trading that has long disadvantaged institutional and high-volume participants, while also expanding practical access to US equity exposure for traders outside traditional market hours.

The RFQ model works by routing a trader's order to multiple competing market makers simultaneously. Each maker has a brief window to submit a price; the best conforming quote wins the trade, which then settles on-chain at a single agreed price. Silhouette runs this competitive quoting mechanism inside Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs), secure computing enclaves that prevent trade details from leaking before execution. The design eliminates front-running and the kind of price-impact signaling that typically occurs when a large order appears on a public order book. Silhouette charges a flat fee of 5 basis points (0.05%) all-in per trade across all instruments at launch.

The xStocks available on Hyperliquid's HyperCore spot layer include Nvidia (NVDAx), the S&P 500 (SPYx), the Nasdaq-100 (QQQx), SK Hynix (SKHYx), and Micron (MUx), all quoted against USDC. These assets went live on HyperCore on August 10, 2026, three weeks before Silhouette's RFQ integration. They were selected because they correspond to the largest open-interest positions in Hyperliquid's HIP-3 perpetual futures markets, meaning a pre-existing base of traders was already pricing these names on the platform. xStocks tokens are 1:1 backed by underlying reference assets held in regulated custody and bridge cross-chain via Chainlink's CCIP infrastructure, which has been live on Hyperliquid since July 2025. The framework was developed by Payward, Kraken's parent company, and has processed $37 billion in transaction volume across blockchains since its June 2025 launch, reaching approximately 200,000 holders.

Val Gui, General Manager of xStocks, said Hyperliquid's user base was a key factor in the integration decision: "Hyperliquid has one of the most engaged onchain trader bases found anywhere, and strong product-market fit as a venue for price discovery when traditional markets are closed." That last point carries particular weight for traders outside the United States. US equity markets operate on Eastern Time, which means they are closed during business hours across South Asia and most of Africa. On-chain settlement of tokenized stocks runs continuously, in principle giving a trader in Mumbai, Lagos, or Nairobi the potential to act on market-moving news at any hour without relying on futures contracts or offshore brokers. Silhouette's non-custodial structure adds a layer of practical significance in these markets: traders retain control of their assets throughout the process, with no exchange holding funds on their behalf. Regulatory status for tokenized foreign equities varies considerably by jurisdiction; in India, for example, SEBI is still developing a framework for security tokens and had not finalized rules covering tokenized foreign equities as of 2026, so traders should confirm the legal status of these instruments in their home market before participating.

Silhouette co-founder and CEO Chandler De Kock brings relevant experience to that regional framing. Before founding Silhouette, he scaled exchange operations at Luno, a platform that built its primary footprint across sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. He and co-founder Stenton Mayne also co-developed a zero-knowledge proof-of-reserves prototype at Coinbase before starting Silhouette. The company raised a $3 million pre-seed round led by RockawayX, with participation from Hivemind, Amber Group, NGC, No Limit Holding, and Protagonist. RockawayX cited Silhouette's ability to address information-leakage costs in large on-chain trades and its decision to launch on an already-liquid venue rather than bootstrapping its own liquidity from scratch.

The broader context on Hyperliquid reinforces why this venue attracted the integration. HIP-3 markets, Hyperliquid's framework for listing real-world and traditional financial assets, now account for roughly 50% of the platform's daily perpetual futures volume, up from approximately 2% at the start of 2026. HIP-3 open interest stands at $1.43 billion, representing around 100x growth over six months, with cumulative HIP-3 volume exceeding $100 billion since the framework launched in October 2025. Across the full platform, Hyperliquid processes $245 billion in 30-day perpetual futures volume and holds more than 70% of decentralized derivatives open interest by market share. Total platform TVL sits near $5.9 billion, and the HYPE token carries a market cap of approximately $9.8 billion. All figures reflect conditions as of September 2026 and will shift with market activity.

The launch arrives as the broader tokenized real-world asset market crosses $36 billion in on-chain value, with tokenized equities growing faster than most other categories. Payward has separately announced a partnership with GTN, a fintech infrastructure firm, to expand xStocks beyond US equities into Hong Kong, UK, European, and South Korean listed stocks across more than 90 markets. For Silhouette, that expansion pipeline could represent a potential source of new instruments for its RFQ layer, if the integration is extended to cover those assets. To be clear on timing: xStocks on HyperCore is three weeks old, having launched on August 10, while Silhouette's RFQ layer went live today, September 1. Both products are early-stage, and liquidity depth together with market maker participation across the initial listed assets will be the near-term metrics to watch.