Crypto & Forex May 15, 2026 0 Comments

Could Bitwise’s Bold Move Shake Up the Hyperliquid Spot HYPE ETF Race and Rewrite the Rules?

Here we go again — the institutional world is making a bold play, and if you blink, you might miss it. Bitwise is stepping up to the plate with a live U.S. spot HYPE ETF, tagging in 21Shares just as the demand from big players surges. But what’s really fascinating here isn’t just that the product (BHYP) offers 100% exposure to the altcoin with a slick staking feature — it’s why Bitwise is so bullish on Hyperliquid. Imagine a decentralized platform so crucial that during a Middle East geopolitical crisis, when traditional markets hit pause, institutions flipped the switch and dove right into Hyperliquid without missing a beat. The NYSE debut today marks a new milestone, even if Bitwise’s slightly heftier fee is raising some eyebrows compared to 21Shares’ trailblazing launch just days earlier. So, is this the beginning of a new era for altcoin ETFs or merely the latest chapter in crypto’s ever-unfolding saga? Let’s unravel how this move, paired with the Coinbase powerhouse stepping in, could very well be the catalyst Hyperliquid needs to ignite a fresh rally. LEARN MORE.

Bitwise will launch a live U.S. spot HYPE ETF product with 21Shares as the institutional drive gains momentum.

On the 14th of May, the asset manager announced that its offering (BHYP) will have an in-built staking feature and grant 100% exposure to the altcoin.

On the reason for being bullish on the decentralized platform Hyperliquid, Bitwise said,

We believe Hyperliquid is one of the most important onchain trading platforms in the world. When geopolitical conflict broke out in the Middle East on a Sunday morning and traditional markets were closed, institutions didn’t wait until Monday. They turned to Hyperliquid.

The product will debut on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) today, the 15th of May. The move comes just after Bitwise updated its filing, but its 0.34% fee is slightly higher than 21Shares’ 0.30%.

Notably, the latter launched the first U.S. spot HYPE ETF on the 13th of May. In the past two days, 21Shares raked in $2.5 million in net inflows.

A similar product from Grayscale is also expected to launch soon, but the timeline on VanEck’s offering remains unclear.

Will the Coinbase deal fuel HYPE’s rally?

That said, Coinbase announced that it will be Hyperliquid’s official treasury deployer of USDC. Additionally, it acquired Native Markets, the firm behind the stablecoin USDH, which was initially intended to replace USDC across the DEX.

The initial push for USDH was to cut the bleedout from about $5B USDC circulating in Hyperliquid. That supply was generating about $200M in interest income that was shared by Coinbase and Circle, with no positive impact on Hyperliquid.

So, isn’t Coinbase’s move a hostile takeover? Notably, it will sunset Native Market’s USDH and make USDC the main liquidity in Hyperliquid.

How is that even bullish to the Hyperliquid ecosystem? Well, Coinbase folded to the DEX’s demand for sharing the interest income.

Per the deal, Coinbase will reportedly return 90% of the interest income to fund the HYPE value accrual programs, including buybacks.

In other words, the arrangement could inject about $160M to $180M annually back into Hyperliquid. Commenting on the same, Austin Barack, founder of Relayer Capital, said,

$440K per day, every day. That’s how much (additional) $HYPE buy pressure is coming from the Hyperliquid/Coinbase deal beyond the already $1.7MM in daily revenue from trading fees.

HYPE’s price rallied 23% on the update and tagged $47, a new yearly high, with whales going long on the altcoin.

Final Summary

The U.S. is set to welcome its second spot HYPE ETF by Bitwise after 21Shares debuted a similar product earlier this week.
Analysts billed the Coinbase deal as bullish for Hyperliquid, with a potential of $160-180M in annual revenue injected back into the DEX.