Key Highlights
- Grayscale filed an S-1 registration statement with the SEC on March 20 for the Grayscale HYPE ETF. If approved, the fund would trade on Nasdaq under the ticker GHYP.
- Grayscale becomes the third major issuer to file for a Hyperliquid ETF, following Bitwise, which first filed its S-1 in September, and 21Shares, which submitted its S-1 in October.
- Despite muted broader sentiment, Dogecoin’s structure remains intact with potential for a breakout above $0.16.
Grayscale Investments, the crypto asset management arm of Digital Currency Group overseeing approximately $35 billion in assets, has formally submitted an S-1 registration statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a proposed spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracking Hyperliquid’s native HYPE token.
If approved, the Grayscale HYPE ETF would trade on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker symbol GHYP, with Coinbase Custody serving as the primary custodian and CoinDesk’s Benchmark pricing data used for NAV calculations.
The filing, dated March 20, 2026, does not disclose a management fee. Grayscale noted that staking is currently prohibited for the fund but included a “Staking Condition” that could allow staking rewards to be incorporated at a later date.
A three-way race to bring Hyperliquid to Wall Street
Grayscale is not first to the table. Bitwise filed for its Hyperliquid ETF in September 2025 and amended it in December to finalize its ticker BHYP on NYSE Arca and a 0.67% annual management fee. Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas flagged those amendments as signals that Bitwise’s product could be nearing launch. 21Shares followed with its own S-1 in October, proposing a passive vehicle tracking HYPE’s price using Coinbase and BitGo as custodians.
The clustering of three filings from heavyweight issuers within six months reflects a broader institutional conviction that the ETF opportunity in crypto extends well beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The SEC under Chair Paul Atkins has moved to approve a range of crypto-related funds during the U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term, though it has been slower to grant staking rewards. The SEC’s September 2025 decision to approve general listing standards for crypto-based exchange-traded products (ETPs) eliminated the need for Section 19(b) submissions in many cases, streamlining the pathway for products like the HYPE ETF.
Why Hyperliquid and why now
The institutional rush toward HYPE coincides with a period of extraordinary growth for the Hyperliquid protocol. DefiLlama data shows the network has processed approximately $191.4 billion in perpetual volume over the past 30 days, about $9.4 billion over the past 24 hours, and roughly $4.1 trillion cumulatively, with open interest near $7 billion.
In 2025, Hyperliquid surpassed Coinbase in notional trading volume, recording $2.6 trillion against Coinbase’s $1.4 trillion, according to Artemis data. Its user base grew from 300,000 to 1.4 million over the same period, while total value locked (TVL) climbed from $2 billion to $6 billion. More recently, the platform has shattered volume records, with 7-day perpetual volumes frequently hovering around $40–$46 billion, cementing its position as the dominant on-chain derivatives venue.
What distinguishes Hyperliquid from the dozens of other altcoin ETF candidates is its revenue profile. The protocol generates annualized fees exceeding $700 million, with approximately 97% of that revenue directed into the Assistance Fund, which performs automated HYPE buybacks from the open market. Validators approved a permanent burn of 37.5 million HYPE tokens worth roughly $912 million in December 2025, removing more than 13% of supply from fully diluted valuation calculations.
From crypto perps to tokenized oil and the S&P 500
The filing also arrives at a moment when Hyperliquid is rapidly evolving from a crypto-native perpetual futures venue into a full-spectrum 24/7 trading platform for real-world assets. On March 18, S&P Dow Jones Indices announced it had licensed the S&P 500 to Trade for the first and only officially licensed perpetual derivative contract on Hyperliquid, enabling eligible non-U.S. investors to gain leveraged exposure to the benchmark around the clock.
The S&P 500 perpetual topped $100 million in 24-hour trading volume within days of its debut, quickly becoming one of the blockchain’s 10 largest markets. Aggregate open interest across HIP-3 permissionless markets, which allow builders to deploy perpetual futures for any asset with a reliable price feed, recently climbed to approximately $1.43 billion, more than 100 times higher than six months earlier.
Hyperliquid has effectively become a weekend and after-hours venue for price discovery, processing over $1 billion in oil-linked volume during a single weekend earlier this month as Middle East tensions drove commodity prices higher while traditional exchanges remained closed.
The regulatory landscape and the U.S. access paradox
One notable complication for the HYPE ETF race is that Hyperliquid is barred to U.S. users, though the recently formed Hyperliquid Policy Center is working on lobbying efforts in Washington, DC. The nonprofit, seeded with 1 million HYPE tokens (valued at roughly $29 million at the time) and led by former Blockchain Association chief policy officer Jake Chervinsky, aims to brief policymakers on decentralized market infrastructure and advocate for clearer DeFi regulation.
The irony of U.S.-listed ETFs offering exposure to a protocol that U.S. residents cannot directly access mirrors earlier dynamics in crypto markets, where Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust traded at significant premiums precisely because it offered regulated exposure to an asset that remained difficult for many institutional investors to acquire directly.
HYPE price action and what comes next
HYPE has climbed sharply in recent sessions, rising from below $30 in early March to trade near $39–$40, marking a rally of over 45% since late February. The token was last trading near $39, down about 0.6% on the day.
BitMEX Co-Founder Arthur Hayes has projected HYPE to reach $150 by August 2026, calling it his fund Maelstrom’s largest holding and citing the protocol’s revenue dominance, aggressive buyback mechanics, and growing TradFi integration. While such predictions carry obvious caveats, particularly given Hayes’ own fund’s exposure, the filing trifecta from Grayscale, Bitwise, and 21Shares lends institutional weight to the thesis that Hyperliquid has outgrown its DeFi niche.
With a maximum supply of one billion HYPE and approximately 299 million in circulating supply as of December 31, 2025, the token’s scarcity profile, combined with ongoing buyback-driven deflation, presents a distinctive proposition for ETF investors, assuming the SEC gives the green light.
Also Read: Is HYPE the New TradFi Index? Hyperliquid Sees Record $1.4B RWA Volume Surge
