In a very small and, at least for now, unknown corner of the crypto market, investors are pouring in rather than heading for the exit. The so-called HYPE exchange-traded fund is accepting new assets from investors as major crypto investments such as Bitcoin and Ether slump.
In May, Bitwise and 21shares launched a spot ETF that tracks the index of HYPE, a decentralized cryptoasset run on its proprietary blockchain, HyperLiquid. The products, which trade under the tickers BHYP and THYP, have raised nearly $150 million in assets and have had most positive net inflow days since launch, which caught the attention of Nate Geraci, president of NovaDius Wealth Management.
Grayscale on Wednesday launched its own Grayscale HyperLiquid Staking ETF (HYPG).
“This is a market with only 1% penetration of the potential market. Most people still don’t know what Hyperliquid is,” Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hogan told CNBC.
Hyperliquid is a decentralized perpetual futures exchange built on blockchain. It operates 24 hours a day for traders outside the United States. It existed quietly until last summer, but the war between the United States and Iran prompted traders to compete for access to the weekend oil market. Trading volume soon reached about $1 billion a day in crude oil alone, said Stephen Coltman, vice president and head of macro at 21Shares.
For most financial advisors and investors, this buzz, unheard of a month ago, was impossible to ignore, especially during Bitcoin’s steep decline. Spot Bitcoin ETFs are experiencing asset outflows. For example, the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) ended the week down about 16%.
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IBIT 5 days
The inflow into HYPE is likely to be a move by investors into something truly new, rather than a rotation from existing cryptocurrencies.
“Hyperliquid is bringing new investors into this particular digital asset from outside the cryptocurrency ecosystem. I think it appeals to a much different type of investor than Bitcoin,” said Zach Pandle, head of research at Grayscale.
Pandol said investors are attracted to an understandable revenue model. Most crypto tokens have an indirect relationship with the activity of the underlying platform, but Hyperliquid is different.
“In the case of HyperLiquidity, 99% of the fees generated on the platform go toward repurchasing the asset HYPE,” Hogan said. “There is a very close relationship between the activity taking place in cryptocurrencies and the value of ultra-liquid assets,” Hogan said.
This is a market mechanism that traditional stock investors will recognize immediately: the act of a publicly traded company using cash to buy back its own stock. “This is very similar to a stock buyback, where every trade is generated and used to buy back tokens,” Coltman said.
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Performance of ultra-liquid ETFs since launch in May 2026.
ETF experts say these funds are a practical entry point for investors seeking exposure without the complexity of setting up a digital wallet or operating a decentralized exchange.
As of Friday, the just-launched Grayscale HyperLiquid Staking ETF had $4.5 million in assets. 21shares Hyperliquid ETF has $75.8 million in assets under management, and Bitwise Hyperliquid ETF has $71.14 million in assets under management.
Geraci said that as investors become more familiar with hyperliquidity through ETFs, it is reasonable to expect that the product will help accelerate mainstream adoption of the platform itself.
“I see Spot Crypto ETFs as an important bridge between TradFi.” [traditional finance] and DeFi [decentralized finance]. “While it is difficult to determine the degree of overlap between HYPE ETF investors and HyperLiquidity users, there is no doubt that ETFs are increasing awareness of the platform,” he wrote in an email to CNBC.
But ETF experts warned that awareness remains low, competition is wide and risks remain high.
21shares points to the company’s track record of listing its HYPE product in Europe in August 2025. Grayscale has the lowest expense ratio at 0.29%, compared to 21shares at 0.30% and Bitwise at 0.34%. Bitwise has strong relationships with family offices.
“Hyperliquid’s biggest challenge may be increased competition from both TradFi and DeFi, with a more favorable regulatory environment potentially increasing competition,” Geraci wrote.
The platform is still not available in the United States, but Pandor said the expected approval date is 2027, “a reasonable timeline for when there will be sufficient regulatory clarity around decentralized exchanges that U.S. users can begin to access the platform.”
The landscape may be quite crowded by then. The rapid growth story of ultra-liquid ETF assets shows that some investors are not waiting.
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