HYPE has surged to a new all-time high of $75, driven by a combination of strong ETF flows, protocol-level buybacks, and aggressive accumulation by top-tier institutions. BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes, a long-time HYPE advocate, previously bet $100,000 that HYPE would outperform all top-10 cryptocurrencies this year, while some traders have begun to short the token amid signs of market fear. However, on-chain and ETF data suggest a major shift in HYPE’s fundamentals.
HYPE spot ETFs draw continuous inflows as money rotates out of BTC and ETH
Two U.S.-listed HYPE spot ETFs are now trading: 21Shares’ THYP on Nasdaq (May 12) and Bitwise’s BHYP on NYSE (May 15). As of June 2, the pair have seen 14 straight days of net inflows totaling over $136 million, absorbing roughly 0.9% of HYPE’s total market cap. BHYP alone accounts for $82.96 million in inflows, making it the largest HYPE ETF. By cumulative net inflows, HYPE ETFs now rank as the fifth-largest crypto spot ETFs behind BTC, ETH, XRP and SOL, outpacing many earlier-launched products.
This contrasts sharply with BTC spot ETFs, which have recorded 12 consecutive days of outflows since May 15, losing over $2.43 billion in May — a new record. ETH spot ETFs have seen 16 straight days of outflows since May 11, shedding $540 million, while VanEck’s BNB ETF saw no inflows for four consecutive days. Institutional demand for the largest crypto ETFs is cooling, and capital is being reallocated into HYPE.
On a market-cap-relative basis, HYPE ETFs absorbed nearly 1% of the token’s market cap within two weeks, surpassing BTC’s ETF launch-week absorption of 0.2% and SOL’s 0.47%, while ETH ETFs experienced net outflows during the same period.
Dual buy pressure from protocol buybacks and ETF inflows
Beyond ETF purchasing, Hyperliquid’s protocol revenue serves as a steady source of buy pressure. The Assistance Fund (AF) mechanism allocates 99% of trading fees from perpetuals, spot, and other activities to automatically repurchase HYPE. Since its launch in early 2025, the AF has accumulated over $1.1 billion in HYPE buybacks. While cumulative ETF inflows are smaller than the AF total, their speed is remarkable — in just half a month, ETF net inflows reached one-tenth of the AF amount, with a single-day peak of $31.62 million on May 29.
This dual-layered demand helps offset the potential selling pressure from monthly team token unlocks. Starting January 2026, team tokens unlock in a single batch on the 6th of each month — with about $38.7 million worth of tokens set to unlock on June 6. However, ETF investors, who are often less sensitive to tokenomics, are unlikely to react strongly to unlocks as long as the protocol’s fundamentals remain intact. Moreover, additional ETF catalysts are on the horizon: Grayscale filed an amended S-1 for a Hyperliquid Staking ETF (ticker HYPG) on June 2, seeding it with 2 million HYPE and planning to begin trading on June 4. More such products will likely bring deeper liquidity and incremental buying.
Institutional FOMO: a16z and Galaxy Digital are loading up
Top venture firms are backing their bullish rhetoric with substantial on-chain purchases. According to crypto analyst Ai (@ai_9684xtpa), a16z has become the sixth-largest on-chain holder of HYPE (the top five are Hyperliquid ecosystem projects), with a single address holding 3.095 million HYPE worth over $223 million.
Multiple a16z-linked addresses continue to accumulate: on May 28, address 0x4c6 withdrew 253,947.43 HYPE from exchanges and market makers at an average price of $59.2; on May 30, address 0xb5E bought an additional 226,121 HYPE, bringing its total since April 14 to 3.9 million HYPE at an average of $49.4. Galaxy Digital has also been active, withdrawing 179,000 HYPE (~$12.62 million) from Coinbase on June 3, after another wallet purchased 158,100 HYPE (~$8.8 million) on May 21.
From DEX token to financial infrastructure: Redefining HYPE
Institutions are recasting HYPE in a new light. Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan wrote that HYPE is not just another altcoin but a “second-generation” crypto with real value capture, buybacks, and institutional demand. Grayscale stated in a report that Hyperliquid could eventually challenge traditional derivatives trading and exchange systems, growing into a “financial services giant.” This narrative shift underpins long-term price support.
Russell 3000 inclusion prospects and DAT gains reinforce the ecosystem
While the broader DAT trend cools, HYPE-focused publicly traded company PURR continues to profit. On May 22, FTSE Russell included PURR in the preliminary list for the June 2026 Russell 3000 reconstitution, with an effective date of June 26. The Russell 3000 covers roughly 3,000 of the largest U.S. companies, with about $10.6 trillion in assets benchmarked against it. Inclusion would bring passive fund allocations and heightened visibility. Some expect that PURR may eventually emulate Strategy’s “issuing debt to buy crypto” model, providing yet another pillar of sustained HYPE demand.