Bitwise HYPE ETF Near Launch as SEC Filing Advances

 

Bitwise Asset Management is inching toward what could be a landmark moment for decentralized finance: the first U.S.-listed spot ETF tied to Hyperliquid's HYPE token. Bitwise filed a second amendment to its registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, finalizing two key details: a ticker symbol, $BHYP, and a management fee set at 0.67%.

 

For people who watch the ETF market closely, these are typically the last things to be done before an ETF goes live. Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said on social media that the addition of a ticker and fee often means a launch could be coming soon, with the amended filing adding to signs the firm is preparing to go live. And when Balchunas speaks on ETF timelines, the market pays attention. He made similar calls ahead of the Bitcoin ETF approvals in early 2024.

 

The trust's stated goal is to give investors exposure to the value of Hyperliquid held by the fund, with staking rewards as a secondary objective. That staking component is extremely interesting. The fund includes a staking component with roughly 85% of staking rewards retained after fees, and custody will be handled by Anchorage Digital. Bitwise amended its earlier filing to include staking, while 21Shares signaled similar plans in its own proposal, suggesting issuers view staking as a way to improve investor returns beyond simple price exposure.

 

If approved, shares of the Bitwise Hyperliquid ETF are anticipated to list on NYSE Arca.

 

The competitive landscape of Hyperliquid ETFs is getting crowded fast. Bitwise was the first of the major issuers to submit a Hyperliquid ETF filing with the SEC, doing so back in September. 21Shares followed a month later with its own, while Grayscale submitted its filing in late March. VanEck, under proposed ticker VHYP, has also confirmed plans to pursue a similar product, bringing the total number of competing HYPE ETF applications to four. If any one of these gets approved first, it will be a precedent-setting moment, the first spot ETF approval for a DeFi-native token built around a decentralized exchange. A huge moment for DeFi.

 

One day before the latest U.S. filing update, Bitwise Europe launched the Bitwise Hyperliquid Staking ETP on Deutsche Boerse Xetra under the same BHYP ticker. The dual-market play suggests Bitwise is building out a coordinated global product strategy around HYPE.

 

HYPE is up roughly 65% since the start of 2026, trading around $41.96, despite a tough start to the year for the broader crypto market. Over the past 12 months, the price is also up about 182%. Balchunas noted Bitwise was likely "trying to strike while the iron was hot",  a good read given where Bitcoin and Ethereum have traded in the same window.

 

The protocol's fundamentals have kept pace with that price action. A BitMEX research report published in early April revealed that Hyperliquid captured nearly 30% of the traditional finance perpetual swaps market in Q1 2026, posting 953% quarterly volume growth, driven heavily by commodities like gold and silver. Weekly derivatives trading volume on the platform has topped $50 billion, and the chain has dominated in on-chain revenue relative to other major networks.

 

The 0.67% fee sits above the 0.20-0.25% range common among Bitcoin spot ETFs, though that premium is a bit justified when you consider the staking yield component and the additional complexity of holding a DeFi-native asset in a regulated wrapper.

 

The regulatory backdrop has also shifted in a way that's helping all of these filings move faster. Under SEC Chair Paul Atkins, the commission has approved generic listing standards for crypto-based exchange-traded products, eliminating the need for asset-specific Section 19(b) rule change filings in many cases and opening the door for a broader wave of altcoin ETF applications.

 

The SEC has not yet approved the fund. But between the amended filings, the European product launch, and the queue of competing issuers pushing from behind, Bitwise has every incentive to get this across the finish line sooner rather than later. It will be interesting to watch the growing number of products beyond BTC and ETH to see what area of the crypto sector may be interesting to ETF issuers and the investors that use them.