Grayscale Files for HYPE ETF as Hyperliquid Tops $50B
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- Grayscale filed an S-1 registration statement for the Grayscale HYPE ETF, which would hold HYPE and list on Nasdaq under ticker GHYP; the filing did not disclose a proposed fee.
- Grayscale said it may stake some of the fund's holdings in the future, though it cannot do so at launch, and noted the move is contingent on regulatory approval for staking in the wrapper structure.
- Hyperliquid saw weekly derivatives trading volume top $50 billion with more than $6.5 billion in 24 hours, per DeFiLlama, and $1.6 million in 24-hour fee revenue per Artemis — far above BNB Chain's $335,000 and Bitcoin blockchain's $192,000.
- Bitwise and 21Shares have also filed for HYPE ETFs, with 21Shares already operating a HYPE ETP in Europe at a 2.5% total expense ratio, setting up a multi-issuer race to the U.S. listing.
- Arthur Hayes, BitMEX co-founder and Maelstrom CIO, said the platform's revenue, real trading activity, and disciplined token supply could take HYPE to $150; the token trades around $40 and is up 57% year-to-date while bitcoin fell about 20% and ether fell about 28%.
- Hyperliquid is drawing bets on traditional assets, including oil, gold, and a recently added S&P 500 perpetual contract, letting traders take positions on stocks and commodities around the clock outside traditional exchanges.
Why it matters: Grayscale is extending the spot-ETF template to a DeFi-native token tied to perpetual futures trading. With Bitwise and 21Shares also filing for HYPE ETFs, regulators face a fresh test of whether a derivatives-focused chain's token merits the same treatment as bitcoin and ether — HYPE is up 57% YTD while BTC and ETH have fallen.
