HYPE spot ETF sees 14 consecutive days of accumulation at 1%, is the new high of $75 just the beginning?

Original ｜Odaily Planet Daily (@OdailyChina)

Author ｜Golem (@web3_golem)

"HYPE should at least surpass SOL before the end of this bull run," BitMEX co-founder and most loyal "H Guard" Arthur Hayes first publicly stated this expectation at the end of May. He had previously expressed multiple times that HYPE would rise to $150.

Arthur Hayes' "promoting one while criticizing the other" originated when Multicoin Capital co-founder and "S Guard" Kyle Samani first opened fire on Hyperliquid in the community. The ensuing "verbal sparring" between the two spiraled out of control, eventually concluding with a $100,000 bet that HYPE would outperform all top 10 tokens by market cap for the remainder of the year (For details on their feud, see: Solana and Hyperliquid's Most Loyal Guards Clash in a Heated Exchange).

In recent days, HYPE has been continuously rising, hitting an all-time high of $75. Investors looking to get in are feeling "vertigo," with some even trying to short it. This article by Odaily Planet Daily will analyze the changes in HYPE's fundamentals from market bid-ask dynamics for readers' reference.

The Strongest Altcoin ETF in History Arrives

Currently, there are two HYPE spot ETFs on the market. On May 12, 21Shares launched the first Hyperliquid ETF (THYP) on Nasdaq; on May 15, Bitwise also launched the Hyperliquid ETF (BHYP) on the New York Stock Exchange.

HYPE Spot ETF Records 14 Consecutive Days of Net Inflows

As of June 2, the HYPE spot ETF has achieved 14 consecutive days of net inflows since its launch, with cumulative net inflows exceeding $136 million, absorbing approximately 0.9% of HYPE's total market cap. Among them, Bitwise's BHYP saw net inflows of $82.96 million, becoming the world's largest HYPE ETF.

The performance of the HYPE spot ETF post-launch clearly demonstrates the degree of traditional capital's enthusiasm for Hyperliquid. Among the 12 US crypto spot ETFs, by cumulative total net inflows, the HYPE spot ETF has become the 5th largest crypto spot ETF after BTC spot ETF, ETH spot ETF, XRP spot ETF, and SOL spot ETF, far surpassing other crypto spot ETFs that launched earlier.

Comparing the performance of BTC and ETH spot ETFs since May also reveals a market divergence trend, as capital is being reallocated within crypto asset ETFs.

BTC spot ETFs have recorded net outflows for 12 consecutive days since May 15, totaling over $2.43 billion in May, breaking the record of 8 consecutive days of net outflows set in early 2025. ETH spot ETFs have seen net outflows for 16 consecutive days since May 11, totaling over $540 million in May. The VanEck BNB ETF (VBNB) launched on Nasdaq on May 28 even experienced zero net inflows for 4 consecutive days.

In this cycle, institutional and traditional capital demand for exposure to ETFs like BTC and ETH has noticeably cooled, while HYPE's attractiveness to them has gradually increased. The level of FOMO even surpasses the data during the initial launch of BTC and ETH spot ETFs.

Within two weeks of its launch, the HYPE spot ETF has absorbed nearly 1% of HYPE's market cap. By market cap ratio, this exceeds the debut performance of BTC and ETH spot ETFs during the same period. According to SoSoValue data, BTC spot ETFs had net inflows of $1.46 billion in their first two weeks, absorbing only about 0.2% of BTC's market cap at the time; ETH spot ETFs even saw net outflows of about $400 million in their first two weeks; while SOL spot ETFs had net inflows of about $380 million, absorbing only about 0.47% of SOL's market cap at the time.

The sustained inflows into the HYPE spot ETF provide solid support for HYPE's price.

Dual Support for HYPE Buy-Side Offsets Unlocking Selling Pressure

Besides the ETF, Hyperliquid's protocol revenue is also a crucial support for HYPE's buy side.

As early as early 2025, Hyperliquid launched the Assistance Fund (AF) mechanism, stipulating that 97% of protocol transaction fees (perps + spot, etc.) automatically enter the AF system address to continuously repurchase HYPE. Subsequently, the fee percentage was changed to 99%. This mechanism allows HYPE to effectively capture the value of the Hyperliquid protocol, also becoming a significant support for HYPE's price.

Hyperliquid's daily protocol revenue ranges between $1 million and $3 million. Since the AF mechanism was implemented, it has cumulatively repurchased over $1.1 billion worth of HYPE. Although the cumulative net inflows of the HYPE spot ETF are less than the AF, its growth rate is rapid. In just half a month, its net inflows reached 1/10 of the AF repurchase amount, with a single-day high of $31.62 million on May 29.

Now, the addition of the HYPE spot ETF will provide dual support for HYPE, thereby offsetting the selling pressure from team token unlocks.

Starting from January 2026, official rules dictate that team token unlocks will occur via a one-time monthly unlock, fixed on the 6th of each month. On June 6, tokens worth $38.7 million will be unlocked in one go, but this may not create significant selling pressure in the market.

Another important characteristic of ETF buying is that the underlying investors may not understand tokenomics or have even directly interacted with DeFi protocols; they simply want exposure to HYPE risk. Therefore, ETF investors are less sensitive to token unlocks. As long as the project's fundamentals don't change drastically, token unlocks won't suppress buy-side strength.

Simultaneously, more HYPE spot ETFs are expected to launch in the future. On June 2, Grayscale submitted an S-1 amendment for a Hyperliquid Staking ETF, providing approximately 2 million HYPE as seed capital investment. The Hyperliquid ETF code is Grayscale Hyperliquid Staking ETF (HYPG), and trading is set to officially begin on June 4.

HYPE will usher in deeper liquidity, stronger institutional participation, and continuously generated incremental buy-side pressure.

Are Institutions More FOMO Than Retail Investors?

Institutional FOMO for HYPE is no less intense than that of retail investors. They publicly express bullish views on HYPE while simultaneously fueling its rise with real capital.

a16z May Have Become the Largest External HYPE Holder

Starting around August 2025, a16z began accumulating large amounts of HYPE. According to monitoring by crypto analyst Ai Yi @ai_9684xtpa, a16z may have become the sixth-largest HYPE holder on-chain and the largest external holder. The top 5 addresses on HYPE's chain belong to Hyperliquid's own ecosystem projects (the fifth being the Kinetiq staking protocol), while the sixth address belongs to a16z, holding 3.095 million HYPE, valued at over $223 million.

However, this is not a16z's only HYPE holding address. On-chain data shows a16z has been continuously buying and accumulating HYPE through multiple associated addresses.

On May 28, crypto analyst Ai Yi @ai_9684xtpa monitored an address starting with 0x4c6, associated with a16z, which had withdrawn a total of 253,947.43 HYPE from several exchanges and market maker addresses, with an average withdrawal price of about $59.2. On May 30, Lookonchain monitored that an address starting with 0xb5E, associated with a16z, bought another 226,121 HYPE. Since April 14, this address has accumulated a total of 3.9 million HYPE, with an average purchase price of about $49.4.

Besides a16z, Galaxy Digital is also accumulating HYPE. On June 3, Lookonchain monitored that Galaxy Digital withdrew 179,000 HYPE from Coinbase, worth approximately $12.62 million. On May 21, another associated wallet also bought 158,100 HYPE, worth about $8.8 million.

Institutions no longer view HYPE as an ordinary altcoin. Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan stated that HYPE is not just an altcoin but a "second-generation" cryptocurrency because it possesses real value capture, buybacks, and institutional demand.

Furthermore, institutions have elevated Hyperliquid's positioning from a Perp DEX to a blockchain financial infrastructure platform. Grayscale mentioned in its report that Hyperliquid could potentially even challenge traditional derivatives trading and exchange systems in the future, growing into a "financial services giant."

HYPE DAT Company Included in the Russell 3000 Index

As the concept of DAT cools in the US stock market and the sector leader Strategy begins selling coins, companies betting on HYPE continue to realize paper gains as HYPE's price rises. (Related reading: DAT Failing? Companies Betting on HYPE See Unrealized Gains of $1.25 Billion)

The most noteworthy among these is Hyperliquid Strategies (NASDAQ: PURR). According to its official website, it currently holds 22.3 million HYPE, with a holding value of $1.617 billion. In its financial report released in early May, Hyperliquid Strategies also disclosed that as of Q1 2026, it spent $10.5 million to repurchase approximately 3 million shares, with an average cost of $3.42 per share.

On May 22, FTSE Russell published the preliminary list for the June 2026 Russell 3000 Index reconstitution. PURR appeared on the addition list for the Russell 3000 Index, effective June 26.

PURR appears on the addition list for the Russell 3000 Index

The Russell 3000 Index is one of the broadest stock indices in the US market, encompassing the largest approximately 3,000 publicly traded companies in the US. It essentially includes almost the entire US stock market and undergoes a major rebalancing every June. Numerous index funds, pension funds, and ETFs track this index. FTSE Russell discloses that approximately $10.6 trillion in assets use the Russell US Index as a benchmark.

If PURR is indeed included in the Russell 3000 Index, it will not only gain passive fund allocation but also see a boost in visibility. To provide investors with more HYPE exposure, they might emulate Strategy's "financing to buy coins" model in the future, thereby becoming another solid buy-side pillar for HYPE.