Hyperliquid’s HYPE token climbed as much as 21% since 14 May after asset manager Bitwise launched one of the first US spot HYPE exchange-traded funds on the New York Stock Exchange. The move provides traditional investors with regulated access to the token of a leading decentralized perpetual futures platform.
Hyperliquid's HYPE Gains 17% as Bitwise ETF Goes Live
15 May 2026 - 20:59 CEST
By Jona Jaupi
The token reached an intraday high of roughly $46.98 before easing to around $44.46 by 18:50 UTC. It was still up about 1% on the day, giving it a market capitalization near $10.5bn, according to CoinGecko data.
"HYPE is currently within the top 15 largest crypto assets by market cap at roughly $11bn, and the platform processed over $3tn in combined spot and perpetual futures volume in 2025, more than 5x the prior year's $585bn," Kam Benbrik, head of research at Bitwise Onchain Solutions, told Sandmark. "Beyond the trading metrics, the platform's infrastructure is increasingly being used by other projects."
What is Hyperliquid?
Hyperliquid is a decentralized perpetual futures exchange. Perpetual futures are financial contracts that allow traders to speculate on the future price of assets such as cryptocurrencies, oil, equities or indexes without an expiry date. The platform runs entirely onchain, meaning trades settle directly on the blockchain without traditional intermediaries, enabling continuous 24/7 operation.
The new Bitwise Hyperliquid ETF, ticker BHYP, offers investors direct exposure to HYPE, Hyperliquid’s native token. The fund also stakes a portion of its HYPE holdings through Bitwise’s proprietary infrastructure. Staking involves locking tokens to help secure and operate the underlying blockchain network, in return for rewards.
As of 15 May, Hyperliquid is the largest decentralized perpetual futures exchange by 24-hour trading volume. It handled roughly $7.8bn in daily perpetuals with open interest just below $9bn, according to DeFiLlama.
Over the past 30 days, the platform recorded more than $176bn in perpetual futures volume. Crypto wallet Phantom has integrated Hyperliquid’s infrastructure to offer perpetual trading to its users, while projects such as Trade.xyz have launched perpetual markets tied to equities, commodities and traditional indexes.
Benbrik highlighted the platform’s resilience during recent Middle East geopolitical tensions, when its oil perpetuals market remained active over the weekend while conventional exchanges were closed. Traders also used Hyperliquid’s pre-IPO perpetual market for semiconductor firm Cerebras (CBRS) this week to assess potential opening prices ahead of its Nasdaq listing.
Why staking matters
The ETF launch reflects rising demand for yield-generating features in crypto investment products. For HYPE, staking forms a core part of the token’s role in Hyperliquid’s protocol economics, enabling holders to participate in platform revenue and operations.
Bitwise manages staking internally for the BHYP fund rather than relying on external providers, allowing greater oversight. This mirrors the approach taken by several established Ethereum (ETH) staking ETFs from issuers, including BlackRock and Bitwise, where rewards can enhance long-term returns while introducing additional operational considerations.
"We expect investors will increasingly look at whether and how a crypto ETF captures staking rewards, given the impact this can have on long-term outcomes," Benbrik said.
Market context, considerations
Bitwise’s BHYP follows the recent launch of 21Shares’ THYP ETF on Nasdaq, which recorded roughly $1.8mn in first-day volume and $1.2mn in net inflows. Grayscale and VanEck have also filed for their own HYPE products, indicating growing issuer interest.
As with any new token-based ETF, investors should consider supply dynamics. Hyperliquid has a scheduled token unlock for core contributors in June, which will increase circulating supply.
