Bitwise Asset Management has moved a step closer to launching a spot Hyperliquid ETF, submitting a second amendment to the US Securities and Exchange Commission that assigns the fund a ticker symbol and locks in a management fee. The updated SEC filing lists the product under the ticker $BHYP with an annual fee of 0.67%, or 67 basis points. The supporting evidence appears in the cited X post.
Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas flagged the development in a post on X, stating that adding a ticker and fee structure to an ETF filing typically signals the product will “launch soon.” Balchunas noted that HYPE has surged roughly 200% over the past year, and that Bitwise appears to be “trying to strike” while conditions are favorable.
How Bitwise Got Here Before Grayscale and 21Shares
Bitwise was first to file a spot Hyperliquid ETF proposal with the SEC back in September 2025, giving it a meaningful head start over rivals. 21Shares filed its own application roughly a month later, while Grayscale submitted its competing proposal in late March 2026.
If approved, the Bitwise product would trade on the NYSE Arca exchange and track the spot price of HYPE.
A key differentiator surfaced in the firm’s December 2025 amendment: the fund intends to pursue additional yield through HYPE staking, a feature neither Grayscale nor 21Shares has explicitly incorporated into their own filings.
HYPE’s Price Momentum and What It Tells Institutional Buyers
According to CoinGecko data, HYPE has climbed approximately 65% since January 1, 2026, trading near $41.96 at the time of writing despite a broadly sluggish start to the year for crypto assets.
Over 12 months, the token has gained around 182%, an trajectory that makes the ETF timing look deliberate rather than opportunistic.
That performance sits alongside growing institutional recognition of Hyperliquid itself. Blockchain analytics platform CoinGlass reported in early April that Hyperliquid broke into the top 10 crypto derivatives venues by volume, putting it in the same tier as Binance, OKX, and Bybit.
During the first quarter of 2026, the protocol generated $492.7 billion in trading volume, trailing ninth-ranked Coinbase by roughly $90 billion.
Altcoin ETF Momentum and the Bitcoin Dominance Question
The Bitwise filing arrives as regulators and asset managers continue to expand the ETF universe well beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum. A wave of altcoin ETF filings over the past several months has challenged the idea that BTC will indefinitely absorb the majority of institutional crypto capital.
Products tied to assets like HYPE could accelerate a rotation of capital into mid-cap tokens with verifiable on-chain revenue, effectively compressing Bitcoin dominance at the margin. That does not guarantee a broad altcoin season, but it does signal that institutional allocation frameworks are widening.
With US macro conditions still shaped by lingering trade tariff uncertainty and the Federal Reserve holding rates higher for longer, yield-generating structures like staking inside a regulated wrapper carry extra appeal for income-focused allocators.
The global regulatory backdrop matters here too. While the SEC under current leadership has shown greater openness to crypto ETF approvals, regulators in Europe and Asia are watching whether these products create sustainable markets or simply amplify speculative flows into smaller tokens.
What a HYPE ETF Approval Would Mean for Retail and Institutional Portfolios
An approved spot HYPE ETF would give US investors a regulated, brokerage-accessible route into a token that currently requires a self-custody wallet or a centralized exchange account to hold.
That lowers the operational barrier considerably for pension funds, family offices, and retail investors working inside traditional brokerage accounts.
The 0.67% annual fee places $BHYP at a moderate cost level relative to other crypto ETFs. Combined with a potential staking yield component, the total return profile could differ meaningfully from simply buying HYPE on a spot exchange, depending on how staking rewards are handled and disclosed to investors.
Three Rivals, One Finish Line and a Race That Is Far From Over
The SEC has not yet issued a decision on any of the three competing Hyperliquid ETF applications, and approval timelines remain uncertain.
Historically, the regulator has taken several months to evaluate novel crypto product structures, and a spot HYPE ETF represents a new asset class beyond the Bitcoin and Ethereum products already on the market.
Bitwise’s second amendment does suggest internal confidence that the regulatory path is clearing. Whether HYPE’s price holds its gains long enough for a launched product to attract meaningful inflows is a separate question entirely, one that depends as much on broader risk appetite as it does on filing mechanics.
For now, the race to bring the first Hyperliquid ETF to market has three serious contenders and no confirmed winner.
Not Financial Advice: This article is for informational purposes only. Crypto investments are highly volatile. Always do your own research.
