Exchange-traded funds linked to Hyperliquid’s HYPE token recorded a sharp rise in trading activity on Wednesday, with volumes jumping nearly 50% despite a relatively modest launch earlier this month.
The two US-listed HYPE ETFs — introduced by Bitwise and 21Shares have now generated close to $41 million in cumulative trading volume, according to SoSoValue data. Interestingly, activity in both funds has continued to build momentum instead of fading after launch, a trend analysts say is uncommon for newly introduced ETFs.
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted on X that most ETFs tend to experience heavy activity on launch day before volumes quickly decline or remain dormant for extended periods. In contrast, the Hyperliquid funds have steadily gained traction during their first week of trading.
Balchunas attributed the growing investor interest to favorable market timing, highlighting that while major asset classes such as stocks, bonds, gold, Bitcoin, and the broader crypto market have struggled recently, HYPE has continued to outperform.
The Hyperliquid token has climbed roughly 120% since the start of the year and gained another 18.5% over the past 24 hours, trading near $56 based on CoinGecko data. Traders have increasingly turned to Hyperliquid as the platform captures a significant share of the crypto perpetual futures market, with some analysts calling it one of the hottest emerging crypto narratives.
By comparison, traditional markets have shown more modest performance over the past year. The S&P 500 has advanced around 8.6%, while the Nasdaq 100 gained roughly 16%. Bitcoin, meanwhile, has declined about 11% over the same period.
The renewed attention toward Hyperliquid also comes shortly after Bitwise described the protocol as more than just a crypto exchange, referring to it as a broader “super-app” spanning multiple financial asset categories.
21Shares became the first issuer to introduce a US-based Hyperliquid ETF, launching the 21Shares Hyperliquid ETF (THYP) on May 12. The fund initially attracted $1.2 million in net inflows, considerably lower than the launch figures seen by several other altcoin ETFs, including Solana staking products.
Bitwise followed shortly afterward with the launch of the Bitwise Hyperliquid ETF (BHYP) on May 14, bringing in approximately $750,000 in initial inflows.
Momentum accelerated this week, however, with the two ETFs posting their strongest inflow day on Wednesday. Combined net inflows reached approximately $25.5 million, including $16.6 million for the 21Shares fund and $8.8 million for Bitwise’s ETF.
Meanwhile, crypto asset manager Grayscale filed paperwork for its own Hyperliquid ETF back in March, with the proposal still under review by US regulators.
Blockchain tracking account Lookonchain also reported Wednesday that two wallets associated with Grayscale accumulated roughly $25 million worth of HYPE during the past week and staked the tokens. However, it remains unclear whether those purchases are directly connected to the company’s pending ETF plans.
