Key Highlights
- Grayscale submitted an S-1 filing to the SEC for a Hyperliquid spot ETF, following applications from Bitwise and 21Shares
- The HYPE token surged approximately 21% over the past seven days, settling between $40 and $43
- Hyperliquid’s market capitalization temporarily exceeded Cardano (ADA), securing a spot in the top 10
- Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, has projected HYPE could reach $150 by August 2026
- The platform processes approximately $500 million in daily trades, allocating 97% of fees toward HYPE token buybacks
Grayscale Investments has submitted a registration statement with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission seeking approval for a Hyperliquid exchange-traded fund. Should regulators greenlight the proposal, the product would launch on the Nasdaq exchange with the ticker symbol GHYP, utilizing Coinbase as the digital asset custodian. The company has not yet revealed what management fees would be charged.
This regulatory submission positions Grayscale as the third major institution pursuing a HYPE investment vehicle, following earlier filings from Bitwise and 21Shares. Bitwise initially submitted its documentation in September before enhancing its proposal in December to incorporate staking capabilities. 21Shares similarly indicated potential staking features in its October application.
According to Grayscale’s filing, the GHYP fund may eventually incorporate staking functionality, though the company has not committed to a specific timeline. Adding staking would enable fund investors to generate additional returns beyond price appreciation.
Institutional Interest Grows Alongside Token Performance
The flurry of ETF applications has coincided with strong market performance for Hyperliquid’s native token. HYPE posted gains of approximately 21% throughout the week, climbing to a trading range between $40 and $43. This upward momentum temporarily propelled Hyperliquid ahead of Cardano (ADA) by total market value, briefly placing it among the ten largest cryptocurrencies.
Cardano also registered positive movement this week, hovering around $0.29, but couldn’t maintain its market cap advantage. Cryptocurrency analyst Ali Martinez identified a potential bullish setup for ADA, noting that maintaining support at $0.23 could trigger a rally toward $0.29 and potentially $0.37.
Arthur Hayes, the BitMEX co-founder, has publicly predicted that HYPE will climb to $150 by August 2026. This forecast implies approximately a 5x appreciation from earlier price points around $30. Hayes emphasizes that Hyperliquid’s economic model—which channels roughly 97% of platform-generated fees into token buybacks—creates a direct connection between exchange profitability and token valuation.
Exchange Volume Fuels Token Economics
Hyperliquid operates as a decentralized platform focused on perpetual futures contracts. The exchange processes between $40 billion and $100 billion in trading volume weekly, maintaining its position as the dominant player in decentralized perpetuals according to statistics from DeFiLlama.
At peak activity levels, the platform has registered daily trading volumes approaching $500 million. Beyond perpetuals trading, Hyperliquid is developing additional products, including initiatives to tokenize traditional markets like the S&P 500 index.
Although new competitors such as Aster, Lighter, and edgeX entered the market in 2025 and captured modest market share, Hyperliquid continues to dominate the sector in most weekly measurements.
Aggregate weekly perpetual futures volume across all decentralized platforms has ranged from $125 billion to $300 billion throughout 2025—representing more than twice the volume recorded during the comparable period last year.
Following its 21% weekly surge, HYPE is currently changing hands in the $40 to $43 price range.
