Here is the translated English version in HTML format: HYPE hits all-time high, institutional ETF inflows exceed $100 million

Overview

In May 2026, Hyperliquid's native token, HYPE, continuously hit new all-time highs, peaking at $73.48. This pushed its market capitalization above $15 billion, briefly surpassing Dogecoin to become the ninth-largest crypto asset globally. Concurrently, the spot HYPE ETFs listed by Bitwise and 21Shares in the US attracted over $100 million in net inflows within just 10 trading days, setting a record for all altcoin ETF launches in 2026. Grayscale has also followed suit by submitting an application. This article will deconstruct the multiple driving forces behind HYPE's recent rally, assess the risk factors, and provide reference information for interested investors.

Key Takeaways

HYPE reached an all-time high of $73.48 on May 31, 2026, with a year-to-date gain of over 146%

The Bitwise BHYP ETF launched on the New York Stock Exchange on May 15, quickly surpassing $62.9 million in AUM, becoming the world's largest HYPE ETF

The combined net inflows for 21Shares' THYP and Bitwise's BHYP exceeded $100 million within just 10 trading days

Grayscale submitted its fourth amended application with a seed investment of approximately $115 million, officially entering the race for the HYPE ETF market

The CFTC approved the first regulated perpetual contract in the US, directly benefiting Hyperliquid's regulatory compliance pathway

The protocol's annualized revenue is approximately $800 million to $1 billion, with roughly 97%-99% of fee income used to buy back and burn HYPE tokens

Why HYPE Hit an All-Time High Now

Multiple On-Chain Metrics Simultaneously Reached Peaks

According to Coinpedia's report, HYPE's recent rally is not purely sentiment-driven but backed by solid fundamentals. On-chain data for the Hyperliquid platform hit all-time highs across the board: HyperEVM cumulative transaction fees exceeded 295,800, total on-chain trading volume surpassed $4.15 trillion, and the protocol's cumulative revenue has exceeded $1.187 billion.

Hyperliquid's business model is highly unique: the protocol uses approximately 97%-99% of transaction fees to continuously buy back and burn HYPE tokens through open market operations. This means the higher the platform's trading volume, the more compressed HYPE's circulating supply becomes. CryptoSlate's analysis points out that Hyperliquid's buyback model directly converts volume growth into supply compression. Concurrently, three ETF products competing for a limited circulating float further amplified the effect of this mechanism.

CFTC Formally Opens the US Perpetual Contract Market

Another key catalyst driving HYPE's rally came from the regulatory front. CFTC Chairman Mike Selig formally approved the first regulated perpetual contract in the US, explicitly framing this move as bringing crypto perpetual contracts "into regulated exchanges to ensure customer protection and market integrity." This decision opened the door for Hyperliquid to collaborate with US institutions within a compliant framework. A report from news.bitcoin.com listed it as a core driver of the recent price breakout.

Arthur Hayes: HYPE's Market Cap Should Surpass Solana

On June 1, 2026, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes publicly stated that HYPE's market capitalization "at least" should surpass that of Solana. This assertion sparked widespread discussion in the market, further strengthening bullish sentiment. Additionally, according to the latest updates compiled by CoinMarketCap, HYPE surpassed Dogecoin at the end of May, becoming the ninth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.

ETF Race: Institutional Capital is Repricing HYPE

Bitwise BHYP: The World's Largest HYPE ETF

Bitwise Asset Management officially launched the Bitwise Hyperliquid ETF (BHYP) on the New York Stock Exchange on May 15, 2026. It is one of the earliest spot HYPE ETFs listed in the US and the only one that performs staking internally. Bitwise utilizes its subsidiary, Bitwise Onchain Solutions, to conduct proprietary staking of its HYPE holdings, offering holders exposure to additional staking yield.

BHYP has a management fee of 0.34%, but waives all fees on the first $500 million in AUM for the first month. More notably, Bitwise has committed to using 10% of its management fee revenue to repurchase HYPE tokens, deeply aligning its interests with the Hyperliquid community.

According to a report from Bitcoin World, as of May 26, 2026, BHYP's AUM had reached $62.9 million, with an average daily trading volume of $19.8 million and cumulative net inflows of $56.9 million, making it the world's largest HYPE ETF. Combined with data from ETFdb, BHYP subsequently surpassed $60 million in AUM, and together with 21Shares' THYP, the total listed assets of the two US products approach $120 million.

21Shares THYP: Earliest Listed, Trading Volume Continuously Rising

21Shares was the first to launch THYP on Nasdaq on May 12, 2026, with a management fee of 0.30%. It uses Figment for staking and distributes the rewards on a 70/30 basis, with the first distribution scheduled for June 2026. Eric Balchunas, Senior Analyst for Bloomberg ETFs, noted in The Block's report that THYP's trading volume has grown consistently since its launch, with one trading day seeing an approximately eight-fold increase compared to its first day, "a strong signal that organic demand is real."

Grayscale Enters with $115 Million Seed Capital

An exclusive report from The Block reveals that Grayscale is negotiating a seed investment of approximately 2 million HYPE tokens (around $115 million). It submitted the fourth amended application for GHYP on May 22, 2026, which received Nasdaq certification. Grayscale characterized Hyperliquid as a "massive enterprise in the financial services sector," citing approximately $800 million in revenue in 2025, $2.9 trillion in perpetual contract trading volume, and roughly $10 billion in open interest as supporting factors.

Data from Kairos Research, compiled by SpotedCrypto, provides a further comparison of HYPE ETF launch performance: adjusted for market capitalization weight, HYPE ETFs absorbed 1.04% of the token's market cap in the first 10 trading days. This is 1.76 times the ratio for Bitcoin ETFs (0.59%) during the same period and 3.3 times that for Solana ETFs (0.31%) – setting a historical record for the initial launch phase of US spot crypto ETFs.

Hyperliquid Fundamentals: Does Protocol Strength Support the Valuation?

Hyperliquid operates on its own proprietary Layer-1 blockchain, utilizing the HyperBFT consensus mechanism. It can process approximately 200,000 orders per second with sub-second latency, and its order book is fully on-chain. As of early 2026, Hyperliquid's market share in the perpetual DEX sector increased from 36.4% to 44%, making it the only major platform among its peers to achieve positive market share growth. Analysis from yellow.com documents this trend.

Data cited by Grayscale indicates Hyperliquid generated approximately $800 million in protocol revenue in 2025, with an estimated annualized revenue of $800 million to $1 billion for 2026. The protocol has also launched HIP-3 (allowing any user to create a perpetual contract market) and HIP-4 (introducing on-chain prediction markets), continuously expanding its addressable market boundaries. S&P Dow Jones Indices authorized Trade[XYZ] to launch S&P 500 perpetuals for non-US qualified investors on Hyperliquid in March 2026, marking recognition of Hyperliquid's infrastructure by mainstream financial institutions.

Want to trade HYPE on MEXC? The platform offers deep liquidity and a wide range of trading tools suitable for investors with different risk profiles.

Risk Factors: Hidden Dangers Not to Be Ignored

Token Unlock Pressure: Data from Tokenomist shows that approximately 9.92 million HYPE tokens (around 2.54% of the circulating supply, valued at roughly $684 million) will be unlocked for core contributors on June 6, 2026. This represents the largest single unlock event in the near term. Although the proportional percentage is relatively manageable, the timing is sensitive, and close monitoring of the subsequent market reaction is necessary.

Regulatory Uncertainty: Despite the CFTC's new policy opening a compliance path for Hyperliquid, whether the protocol's current IP blocking measures meet regulatory compliance requirements remains debatable. A research report from yellow.com points out that IP blocking at the protocol level does not constitute a sufficient compliance foundation under the CFTC's historical enforcement standards, making this legal exposure a factor that cannot be overlooked.

Competitive Landscape: As traditional derivatives exchanges and CEXs gradually enter the on-chain derivatives space, whether Hyperliquid can maintain its first-mover advantage remains an open question.

How to Participate in the HYPE Rally

For investors looking to directly hold HYPE spot, MEXC offers HYPE spot and futures trading with a wide range of trading pairs and deep liquidity. For institutional or individual investors preferring compliant channels, BHYP (NYSE) and THYP (Nasdaq) are the two currently listed spot ETFs. The SEC's decision on Grayscale's GHYP is the next important observation point.

Exclusive Opinion from the MEXC Crypto Pulse Research Team

What makes the current HYPE rally special is that it's not driven by a single narrative, but a confluence of fundamentals, regulatory catalysts, and institutional capital. Historically, demand increments following the launch of most altcoin ETFs have been quite limited. However, the speed at which HYPE ETFs absorbed 1.04% of the token's market cap within 10 trading days indicates strong market recognition of Hyperliquid as "on-chain financial infrastructure," rather than mere speculative activity.

Notably, the protocol's buyback mechanism creates a unique positive feedback loop: higher trading volume leads to larger buybacks, which increases token scarcity, thereby attracting more traffic. This structure is analogous to a "share buyback + high dividend" combination in traditional finance and is exceedingly rare in the crypto market.

However, we believe several points require sober consideration. First, the large token unlock on June 6 represents the most direct short-term downside risk. Second, whether capital inflows can be sustained after the ETF fee waiver period ends is a key indicator of genuine institutional demand. Third, the direction of CFTC regulation remains the biggest variable for the protocol's long-term development. Investors should make decisions based on their own risk tolerance, fully understanding the associated risks.

FAQ

Q1: What is Hyperliquid (HYPE)?

Hyperliquid is a Layer-1 blockchain primarily designed for decentralized derivatives trading. It runs on its proprietary HyperBFT consensus mechanism, supports perpetual contracts, spot trading, and native asset issuance, and features high throughput and a fully on-chain order book.

Q2: What is the difference between BHYP and THYP?

Bitwise's BHYP launched on the NYSE on May 15, 2026, with a management fee of 0.34% (waived for the first month). It uses proprietary staking and commits 10% of fee revenue to buy back HYPE. 21Shares' THYP launched on Nasdaq on May 12 with a management fee of 0.30%. It uses third-party staking through Figment, distributing staking rewards on a 70/30 basis, with the first distribution expected in June 2026.

Q3: When will Grayscale's HYPE ETF be approved?

As of the time of writing this article, Grayscale has submitted its fourth amended S-1 application, which has received Nasdaq certification, and is awaiting final SEC approval. The application also includes an arrangement for approximately $115 million in seed investment. No official announcement has been made regarding the specific approval date.

Q4: How much selling pressure will the HYPE token unlock bring?

According to Tokenomist data, approximately 9.92 million HYPE tokens will be unlocked for core contributors on June 6, 2026, representing about 2.54% of the circulating supply. While the absolute percentage is relatively controllable, given the current high price, it represents a market value of roughly $684 million, and investors should keep a close watch.

Q5: How to buy HYPE on MEXC?

You can visit MEXC, register an account, complete KYC verification, and then search for the HYPE/USDT trading pair on the spot market to complete your purchase.

Q6: What are the ways to hold HYPE?

Main avenues include: (1) Purchasing spot tokens via a centralized exchange like MEXC; (2) Holding tokens directly on the native Hyperliquid platform; (3) Gaining indirect exposure through compliant ETF channels (BHYP or THYP).

Disclaimer

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or financial guidance. The cryptocurrency market is highly volatile, and investors may lose their entire principal. All price data mentioned herein is based on market information at the time of writing and does not represent future trends. Please consult a qualified financial or legal advisor before making any investment decisions and carefully assess based on your own risk tolerance.