Hyperliquid's "Wall Street Moment": ETF Attracts $100 Million, DAT Added to Russell 3000

Original Author: Claude, TechFlow

Introduction: Jeff Sprecher, founder and CEO of ICE (parent company of the New York Stock Exchange), publicly praised Hyperliquid at the Bernstein investor conference on May 27, calling it "bigger than Nasdaq" and stating, "I wish I were younger so I could do it myself." This statement came just 12 days after ICE jointly lobbied the CFTC with CME to "crack down" on Hyperliquid.

Sprecher also revealed that the NYSE has secretly integrated a blockchain settlement system. The HYPE token hit an all-time high of $64 this week, with two spot ETFs attracting over $100 million in inflows within 10 days of launch. Its DAT company, PURR, has been included in the Russell 3000 Index.

On May 27, Jeff Sprecher, founder and CEO of Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), gave a rare and personally charged evaluation of Hyperliquid during an interview at the Bernstein Annual Strategic Decisions Conference.

"This Hyperliquid we're talking about, if you haven't heard of it, it's bigger than Nasdaq, okay? Eleven people. You see this, and you say, wow, this is truly remarkable," Sprecher said. He quickly added: "I love this. I wish I were younger, so I could get in on it myself. By the way, the people doing this are minting billionaires one after another."

ICE is the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange and also operates one of the world's largest energy futures markets. Sprecher's remarks represent the most direct public endorsement of Hyperliquid from the highest echelons of traditional finance to date.

12 Days Ago Lobbying for a 'Crackdown,' Now the CEO's Tone Shifts

The reason Sprecher's praise is so impactful lies in the timeline.

On May 15, according to Bloomberg, CME and ICE executives warned CFTC and Capitol Hill officials that Hyperliquid's decentralized perpetual contract trading could pose risks of market manipulation and sanctions evasion, calling for it to be brought under the traditional financial regulatory framework. Following the news, HYPE fell nearly 9%.

Just 12 days later, the head of ICE publicly expressed admiration at one of Wall Street's most important investor conferences.

Sprecher directly addressed this contradiction at the Bernstein conference: "The headline of one article made it seem like we were scared. We're not scared. We're actually talking to these people, understanding what they're doing. They're learning about our world, and we're learning about theirs. In that sense, it's a mutual admiration."

But he quickly pivoted to the core regulatory demand: "What we're saying to regulators is, can we do this too? Why are you prohibiting us from doing it when it's already happening? Can we have a level playing field? This administration is very supportive of digitalization. If you think it's legal, then let us do it; if you think it's illegal, then why haven't they received the same harsh letters you send us?"

This statement reveals the true logic behind ICE's lobbying of the CFTC: not to shut down Hyperliquid, but to demand regulatory loosening for itself, allowing traditional trading platforms to also participate in the on-chain derivatives market.

On the Eve of SpaceX's IPO: Hyperliquid as a 'Shadow Pricing Market'

Sprecher's interest in Hyperliquid is not casual; he has a very specific focus: SpaceX is set to list on Nasdaq on June 12 with a valuation of approximately $1.75 trillion, and Hyperliquid is already trading SpaceX derivative contracts.

"I think what really takes it to the next level is SpaceX. They've already listed SpaceX derivatives for trading. It will be very interesting on June 11 when SpaceX is officially priced, to see what price this private market discovers, and whether that price will influence the IPO itself," Sprecher said. "Regulators and market participants will say this is either completely irrelevant or highly relevant."

He then calculated an extreme scenario: considering Hyperliquid allows leverage up to 100:1, if retail investors flood into SpaceX derivatives, the notional exposure on-chain "could be bigger than the IPO itself."

"So I say you can't ignore it. I don't know yet whether we should embrace it or hate it, but I think by June we'll all have the answer."

HYPE ETFs Absorb $100 Million in 10 Days, PURR Added to Russell 3000

Sprecher's comments came at a time when Hyperliquid was experiencing a wave of mainstream adoption.

On May 12 and 15, 21Shares and Bitwise launched the first U.S. spot HYPE ETFs (tickers THYP and BHYP) on Nasdaq and the NYSE, respectively.

According to bitcoin.com, the two funds attracted cumulative net inflows of over $100 million within 10 trading days, absorbing 1.04% of HYPE's total market cap. By market cap ratio, this outperformed the initial launch periods of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. Bitwise recorded net inflows of $19.05 million on May 27 alone, becoming the world's largest HYPE ETF.

On May 22, FTSE Russell released the preliminary list for the June 2026 Russell U.S. Index reconstitution. Hyperliquid Strategies (Nasdaq ticker PURR) appeared on the addition list for the Russell 3000 Index, expected to take effect on June 26.

PURR is currently the largest HYPE token treasury company, holding approximately 20 million HYPE (worth about $799 million as of April 29), along with $103 million in cash and no debt. Inclusion in the Russell 3000 means passive funds tracking the index will automatically buy PURR, further facilitating the transmission of HYPE into traditional capital markets.

The HYPE token broke through $64 this week to hit an all-time high, with a year-to-date increase of approximately 150%, far outpacing Bitcoin's performance over the same period. According to CoinGecko data, HYPE currently has a market cap of about $12.7 billion, ranking tenth among crypto assets.

Jeff Yan Heads to Washington, Hyperliquid Policy Center Pushes Back

Facing lobbying pressure from CME and ICE, Hyperliquid chose to respond head-on.

Hyperliquid founder Jeff Yan revealed on May 15 that he and the Hyperliquid Policy Center (HPC) had already held meetings with policymakers in Washington.

The HPC is an independent research and advocacy organization established in February 2026, led by Jake Chervinsky, former Policy Director at the Blockchain Association and former Chief Legal Officer at Variant. Its initial funding came from 1 million HYPE allocated by the Hyper Foundation.

On platform X, Yan stated that the meetings discussed "how on-chain trading, as a financial innovation, has clear global user demand" and "the regulatory pathway for bringing on-chain derivatives markets to the U.S."

In response to Bloomberg's report on CME and ICE's lobbying, the HPC stated that the markets Hyperliquid provides are "more beneficial and less risky than traditional centralized trading platforms" and expects the CFTC to establish a specific regulatory framework for on-chain derivatives platforms.

An interesting detail: CME and ICE themselves are currently facing parallel investigations by the CFTC and the Department of Justice regarding certain "well-timed" oil futures trades on their respective platforms that occurred just before federal policy announcements.

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