How hyperliquid is entering traditional finance: The launch of the HYPE-ETF

The launch of the HYPE-ETF became one of the most notable events in the crypto industry in 2026. The HYPE-ETF became the fifth cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund, following:

• the Bitcoin fund — Bitcoin-ETF;
• the Ethereum fund — Ethereum-ETF;
• the Solana fund — Solana-ETF;
• the XRP fund — XRP-ETF.

The HYPE cryptocurrency has attracted significant attention because it continues to show positive performance even during a declining digital asset market, while its parent platform, Hyperliquid, leads derivative* exchanges in trading volume.

* Derivatives are financial instruments whose value is derived from an underlying asset such as a cryptocurrency, stock, currency, commodity, interest rate, or index. They are used for hedging, speculation, and market risk management.

What is the HYPE-ETF?

The HYPE-ETF is an exchange-traded fund based on the HYPE cryptocurrency issued by the popular trading platform Hyperliquid. The HYPE-ETF became the first fund in history to be based on the native cryptocurrency of a decentralized exchange.

The HYPE-ETF allows investors to profit from the growth of Hyperliquid (HYPE) on spot markets* through traditional brokerage accounts. This eliminates the need for investors and traders to directly manage digital assets and the private keys of cryptocurrency wallets.

* A spot market is a market where transactions are executed immediately, with assets bought or sold at the current market price, and settlement occurs almost instantly or shortly after the trade.

The HYPE-ETF was launched on June 13, 2026. The first investment companies to launch their own HYPE-ETFs were Bitwise and 21Shares. ETFs based on Hyperliquid (HYPE) were first listed on the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) and Nasdaq, respectively.

The launch of the HYPE-ETF marked an important milestone for the cryptocurrency industry, demonstrating how digital asset markets are becoming increasingly integrated with TradFi (traditional finance).

Why was the HYPE-ETF launched?

Since its launch, Hyperliquid has established a dominant position in the decentralized cryptocurrency derivatives market.

As early as the summer of 2025, Hyperliquid set records for daily trading volume, reaching $320 billion in a single day — a figure no DeFi exchange had achieved before.

According to Bitwise, Hyperliquid's total trading volume approached $3 trillion in 2025. The company reported that Hyperliquid alone accounted for approximately 60% of the global open interest* in blockchain-based derivatives.

* Open Interest (OI) is the total number of active derivative contracts that remain open in the market and have not been closed through offsetting trades or settlement. It is used to assess market liquidity and trader participation.

In addition, Hyperliquid was built on its own high-performance Layer 1 blockchain*, specifically optimized for the protocol's requirements.

* A Layer 1 (L1) blockchain is a base blockchain network that independently provides consensus, security, transaction finality, and protocol execution without relying on external networks.

As of June 2026, Hyperliquid ranks seventh among DeFi ecosystems by Total Value Locked (TVL)*. By this metric, Hyperliquid already surpasses ecosystems such as:

• Arbitrum;
• Polygon;
• Avalanche, and others.

* TVL (Total Value Locked) is the total market value of assets deposited in the smart contracts of a DeFi protocol or blockchain ecosystem. It is commonly used to evaluate liquidity, scale, and user confidence in a project.

Another reason behind the launch of the HYPE-ETF is the growing interest in Hyperliquid's native token, HYPE. HYPE became the only digital asset among the top ten cryptocurrencies by market capitalization to post positive performance since the beginning of 2026. HYPE gained nearly 180% in value and even reached a new all-time high (ATH).

For comparison, Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, declined by nearly 32% during the same period, while Ethereum, the largest altcoin, lost more than 27%.

The strong interest in Hyperliquid (HYPE) is largely attributable to the protocol's economic model. A significant portion of the revenue generated from trading fees on Hyperliquid is used to buy back HYPE tokens. This mechanism, among other factors, may have contributed to the positive price performance of HYPE.

Over the past month alone, HYPE has risen more than 23% to $70.7, while its all-time high of $76.8 was reached in mid-June.

Since its listing, the value of Hyperliquid (HYPE) has increased by more than 2,100%, despite the broader cryptocurrency market underperforming amid economic and geopolitical uncertainty. During the same period, Hyperliquid's market capitalization grew nearly fiftyfold — from $367 million to $17.8 billion.

The rapid development of the Hyperliquid ecosystem also became one of the reasons for launching the HYPE-ETF. In addition to traditional cryptocurrency derivatives, Hyperliquid has introduced futures contracts* linked to traditional assets, including:

• Perpetual contracts on the S&P 500 stock index*;
• Oil contracts.

* A futures contract is a financial agreement in which a buyer and seller agree in advance on the price of an underlying asset and commit to completing the transaction in the future under specified conditions. The underlying asset may be a cryptocurrency, stock, stock index, commodity, or currency. Futures are commonly used for hedging, speculation, and leveraged trading.

* The S&P 500 Index (Standard & Poor's 500 Index) is one of the world's most respected stock market indices. It tracks 500 of the largest publicly traded U.S. companies, including giants such as Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Nvidia. The index is weighted by market capitalization and serves as a key indicator of the health of the U.S. stock market and economy. Investors, analysts, and financial institutions frequently use the S&P 500 as a benchmark for evaluating investment performance and overall market sentiment.

In the future, Hyperliquid may launch additional index products, such as Nasdaq-100 and gold contracts. These initiatives are attracting institutional capital into the ecosystem, providing further justification for the launch of the HYPE-ETF.

Who is launching HYPE-ETFs?

As of June 2026, three investment firms have already launched their own HYPE-ETFs:

• Bitwise (BHYP);
• 21Shares (THYP);
• Grayscale (HYPG).

Back in 2025, VanEck also announced plans to launch a HYPE-ETF. If regulators approve VanEck's application, the company intends to launch its own HYPE-based cryptocurrency fund in Europe with a staking program.

At present, the HYPE-ETF still trails other recently launched crypto ETFs in terms of market capitalization, which remains below $200 million. By comparison, the Solana ETF has reached approximately $700 million, while the XRP ETF stands at around $727 million. However, despite its later launch, the HYPE-ETF already surpasses comparable Solana- and XRP-based products in trading volume.

According to Coinglass, the HYPE-ETF has recorded net inflows almost every day since launch, although daily inflows have rarely exceeded $10 million. Nevertheless, if Hyperliquid (HYPE) continues its positive momentum, the HYPE-ETF could experience substantial growth in assets under management in the future.