Eric Balchunas said crypto and traditional assets are trading lower while Hyperliquid continues to rise, creating a boost for ETFs linked to the token.
US-based exchange-traded funds tied to Hyperliquid recorded a 50% increase in trading volume on Wednesday, a rare move for recently launched ETFs, according to analysts.
Two Hyperliquid ETFs from issuers Bitwise and 21Shares have recorded nearly $41 million in total traded value since launching earlier this month, with trading volumes rising since their debut, according to SoSoValue.
Eric Balchunas said in an X post on Wednesday that trading increases like these for ETFs are “very rare,” noting that many usually make a “big splash [on] day one then drop off OR oblivion for months until [people] notice it. Rare to build in first week like this.”
Balchunas pinned the ETFs’ growth on a “perfectly timed launch as EVERYTHING (stocks, bonds, gold, btc [Bitcoin], cryptos) is down lately except the HYPE.”
Hyperliquid Emerges as Major Crypto Trend With HYPE Up 120% This Year
The Hyperliquid token has climbed 120% so far this year and gained 18.5% over the past day to reach $56, according to CoinGecko. Traders have poured into the token and platform, with some analysts viewing it as the next major crypto trend because a large share of the crypto perpetual futures market has been captured by it.
Over the past year, the S&P 500 has gained 8.6%, while the tech-focused Nasdaq 100 has risen 16%, whereas Bitcoin has declined 11%.
The development came a day after Bitwise, one of the two issuers behind a US-based Hyperliquid ETF, said traders had undervalued HYPE, arguing that the platform is more than a crypto exchange and functions as a “super-app” spanning multiple asset classes.
21Shares became the first firm to launch a Hyperliquid fund in the US, debuting its 21Shares Hyperliquid ETF (THYP) on May 12 and attracting $1.2 million in net inflows, well below other altcoin ETF launches such as those tied to Solana staking.
The Bitwise Hyperliquid ETF (BHYP) debuted later that week on May 14 and recorded $750,000 in net inflows.
The two ETFs recorded their strongest day of net inflows on Wednesday, with a combined total of $25.5 million. The 21Shares ETF brought in $16.6 million, while Bitwise’s ETF attracted $8.8 million.
Grayscale also filed for a Hyperliquid ETF in March, and the proposed fund is currently being reviewed by US regulators.
The X account Lookonchain said on Wednesday that two wallets linked to Grayscale had bought and staked $25 million worth of Hyperliquid over the past week, though it remains unclear whether the move is connected to the company’s planned ETF.
