HYPE Spot ETF Sees 14 Consecutive Days of Accumulation at 1%, Is a New High of $75 Just the Beginning?
- Core Thesis: The HYPE token has recently been hitting new all-time highs, driven by a triple pillar of support: sustained net inflows into spot ETFs, continuous buybacks funded by protocol revenue, and aggressive accumulation by institutional investors. This has created powerful incremental buying pressure, which could potentially offset the selling pressure from team token unlocks.
- Key Factors:
- Within two weeks of its launch, the HYPE spot ETF recorded net inflows exceeding $136 million for 14 consecutive days, absorbing approximately 0.9% of the market cap. This ratio significantly outperforms the concurrent performance of BTC, ETH, and SOL spot ETFs.
- Among the 12 US crypto spot ETFs, HYPE has already become the fifth largest by cumulative net inflows. Meanwhile, BTC, ETH, and BNB spot ETFs all experienced significant net outflows during the same period.
- Hyperliquid's Assistance Fund mechanism allocates 99% of protocol fees for repurchasing HYPE, having already accumulated buybacks worth over $1.1 billion. This, combined with the ETF, creates a dual source of buying support.
- a16z has likely become the largest external holder of HYPE, accumulating millions of HYPE tokens across multiple addresses. Other institutions like Galaxy Digital have also been consistently buying recently.
- HYPE DAT company Hyperliquid Strategies holds 22.3 million HYPE (valued at $1.6 billion). It has been included in the Russell 3000 Index, potentially paving the way for passive allocation from large index funds.
Original by Odaily (@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-advocate" Arthur Hayes first publicly stated this expectation at the end of May. He has also repeatedly expressed that HYPE would rise to $150.
The reason Arthur Hayes was "praising one and criticizing the other" is that Multicoin Capital's former co-founder and "S-advocate" Kyle Samani first opened fire on Hyperliquid within the community. Their subsequent "verbal sparring" escalated uncontrollably, eventually concluding in a $100,000 bet that HYPE would outperform all top-10 cryptocurrencies by market cap for the remainder of the year (for details on their feud, read: The Most Loyal Advocates of Solana and Hyperliquid Started Trading Insults).
In recent days, HYPE has been rallying continuously, reaching an all-time high of $75. Investors looking to get in are "afraid of heights," with some even attempting to short it. This article, from Odaily, will analyze the changes in HYPE's fundamentals from the perspective of market buy and sell orders for readers' reference.
The Strongest Altcoin ETF in History Arrives
There are currently 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 a Hyperliquid ETF (BHYP) on the NYSE.
HYPE Spot ETF Sees Net Inflows for 14 Consecutive Days
As of June 2, the HYPE spot ETF has recorded net inflows for 14 consecutive days since its launch, with cumulative net inflows exceeding $136 million. This has already absorbed approximately 0.9% of HYPE's total market cap. Among them, Bitwise's BHYP saw net inflows of $82.96 million, making it the world's largest HYPE ETF.
The performance of the HYPE spot ETF post-launch clearly shows the level of traditional capital's enthusiasm for Hyperliquid. Among the 12 U.S. crypto spot ETFs, based on cumulative total net inflows, the HYPE spot ETF has become the 5th largest crypto spot ETF, trailing only BTC, ETH, XRP, and SOL spot ETFs, far surpassing other crypto spot ETFs that launched earlier.
Comparing the performance of BTC and ETH spot ETFs since May further highlights the market's divergent trend, with capital flowing into crypto asset ETFs being reallocated.
The BTC spot ETF has seen net outflows for 12 consecutive days since May 15, with total outflows exceeding $2.43 billion in May, breaking the previous record of 8 consecutive days of net outflows set in early 2025. The ETH spot ETF has seen net outflows for 16 consecutive days since May 11, with total outflows exceeding $540 million in May. Even the BNB ETF (VBNB) launched by VanEck on Nasdaq on May 28 has had no net inflows for four consecutive days.
In this cycle, institutional and traditional capital demand for exposure to ETFs like BTC and ETH has significantly cooled, while their interest in HYPE has gradually strengthened, with FOMO levels even exceeding the data from 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. Proportionally by market cap, this exceeds the initial launch performance of BTC and ETH spot ETFs. According to SoSoValue data, the BTC spot ETF saw net inflows of $1.46 billion in its first two weeks, absorbing only about 0.2% of BTC's market cap at the time. The ETH spot ETF even saw net outflows of approximately $400 million in its first two weeks. Meanwhile, the SOL spot ETF saw net inflows of about $380 million in its first two weeks, absorbing only about 0.47% of SOL's market cap at the time.
The continuous inflow into the HYPE spot ETF provides solid support for HYPE's price.
Dual Support for HYPE Buying, Offsetting Unlock Selling Pressure
Beyond the ETF, Hyperliquid's protocol revenue is also a significant support for HYPE buying pressure.
As early as early 2025, Hyperliquid introduced the Assistance Fund (AF) mechanism, setting 97% of protocol transaction fees (perps + spot, etc.) to automatically enter the AF system address and continuously buy back HYPE. This fee percentage was later changed to 99%. This mechanism allows HYPE to effectively capture the value of the Hyperliquid protocol, also becoming a crucial 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 inflow of the HYPE spot ETF hasn't surpassed the AF, its growth rate is fast. In just half a month, its net inflow has reached one-tenth of the AF buyback amount, with a single-day peak net inflow 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 stipulate that team token unlocks will occur on a monthly lump-sum basis, fixed on the 6th of each month. On June 6, tokens worth $38.7 million will be unlocked in one go, but it may not cause significant selling pressure in the market.
Another important characteristic of ETF buying is that the investors behind it may not understand tokenomics, nor have they even directly operated 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 drastically change, token unlocks won't suppress buying power.
At the same time, more HYPE spot ETFs will be launched in the future. On June 2, Grayscale submitted an S-1 amendment for the Hyperliquid Staking ETF, providing approximately 2 million HYPE as seed capital investment. The Hyperliquid ETF is code-named Grayscale Hyperliquid Staking ETF (HYPG) and will officially begin trading on June 4.
HYPE will usher in greater liquidity, stronger institutional participation, and continuously generated incremental buying pressure.
Are Institutions More FOMO Than Retail Investors?
Institutional FOMO for HYPE is no weaker than that of retail investors. They not only publicly express bullish views on HYPE but also fuel its rise with real capital.
a16z May Be the Largest External Holder of HYPE
Starting in August 2025, a16z began its large-scale accumulation of HYPE. According to monitoring by crypto analyst Ai Yi (@ai_9684xtpa), a16z may have become the sixth-largest on-chain holder of HYPE and the largest external holder. The top five HYPE on-chain addresses all 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, worth over $223 million.
However, this is not a16z's only HYPE holding address. On-chain data shows that a16z has been continuously buying and accumulating HYPE through multiple related addresses.
On May 28, crypto analyst Ai Yi (@ai_9684xtpa) monitored that an a16z-associated address starting with 0x4c6 withdrew a total of 253,947.43 HYPE from multiple exchanges and market maker addresses, with an average withdrawal price of approximately $59.2. On May 30, Lookonchain monitored that another a16z-associated address starting with 0xb5E bought another 226,121 HYPE and, since April 14, this address has cumulatively bought 3.9 million HYPE at an average purchase price of approximately $49.4.
Besides a16z, Galaxy Digital is also accumulating HYPE. On June 3, Lookonchain reported that Galaxy Digital withdrew 179,000 HYPE from Coinbase, worth approximately $12.62 million. Earlier, on May 21, another associated wallet purchased 158,100 HYPE, worth approximately $8.8 million.
Institutions no longer view HYPE as a typical 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.
At the same time, institutions have elevated Hyperliquid's positioning from a Perp DEX to a blockchain financial infrastructure platform. Grayscale's report stated that Hyperliquid could potentially challenge the traditional derivatives trading and exchange system in the future, growing into a "financial services giant."
HYPE DAT Company Selected into the Russell 3000 Index
As the U.S. stock DAT concept cools down, and sector leader Strategy begins to sell coins, the DAT companies betting on HYPE continue to realize paper profits as HYPE's price rises. (Related reading: Is DAT a Failure? The Company Betting on HYPE Sees $1.25 Billion in Unrealized Gains)
The most noteworthy among them is Hyperliquid Strategies (NASDAQ: PURR). According to official data, 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 had spent $10.5 million to repurchase approximately 3 million shares, at 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, with the change expected to take effect on June 26.
PURR appears on the addition list for the Russell 3000 Index
The Russell 3000 Index is one of the broadest stock indexes in the U.S. market, covering approximately the 3,000 largest publicly traded companies in the U.S. It can be said to encompass almost the entire U.S. stock market, undergoing a major annual adjustment every June. A large number of index funds, pension funds, and ETFs track this index. FTSE Russell disclosed that approximately $10.6 trillion in assets use the Russell U.S. Indexes as a benchmark.
If PURR is indeed included in the Russell 3000 Index, it will not only gain passive allocation from funds but also see a significant increase in visibility. To help investors gain more HYPE exposure, they might in the future emulate Strategy's "borrow to buy coins" model, thus becoming another solid support for HYPE buying pressure.
