“HYPE should surpass SOL at least before this bull run ends,” BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes declared at the end of May, having previously predicted HYPE would reach $150. This came after a clash with Multicoin Capital’s Kyle Samani, resulting in a $100,000 bet that HYPE will outperform all top-10 coins for the remainder of the year. As HYPE surged to a new all-time high of $75, that wager is once again front and center.
Spot ETFs Rack Up $136M in Two Weeks, Outpacing BTC/ETH Launch Metrics
On May 12 and 15, 21Shares and Bitwise launched the first HYPE spot ETFs (tickers THYP and BHYP) on Nasdaq and NYSE, respectively. By June 2, the two ETFs had recorded 14 straight days of net inflows, accumulating over $136 million—approximately 0.9% of HYPE’s total market cap. Bitwise’s BHYP alone attracted $82.96 million, making it the largest HYPE ETF. In cumulative net inflows among U.S. crypto spot ETFs, HYPE now ranks fifth behind only BTC, ETH, XRP and SOL ETFs, far outpacing earlier entrants.
The contrast with BTC and ETH ETFs is stark. Since mid-May, BTC spot ETFs suffered 12 consecutive days of outflows, shedding over $2.43 billion in May; ETH spot ETFs saw 16 straight days of outflows, losing more than $540 million. On a market-cap-adjusted basis, HYPE ETFs absorbed roughly 1% of market cap in their first two weeks, compared to just 0.2% for BTC ETFs at launch and net outflows for ETH ETFs. Institutional FOMO for HYPE is exceeding the early excitement around the largest crypto ETFs.
Dual Buy Pillars: AF Buyback and ETF Inflows Offset Unlock Pressure
Since early 2025, Hyperliquid’s Assistance Fund (AF) has automatically used 99% of protocol trading fees to buy back HYPE, accumulating over $1.1 billion in repurchases so far. With daily protocol revenue ranging from $1 million to $3 million, AF provides a constant bid. The ETFs now serve as a second pillar: in just two weeks, they reached one-tenth of the total AF buyback volume, with a single-day peak net inflow of $31.62 million on May 29.
A team token unlock worth $38.7 million is scheduled for June 6, but the combination of ETF inflows and AF buybacks could easily absorb such selling. ETF investors, typically less sensitive to tokenomics, are unlikely to retreat due to unlocks as long as fundamentals remain intact. Moreover, Grayscale filed an amendment for its Hyperliquid Staking ETF and will begin trading on June 4, with more ETF products on the horizon, deepening liquidity further.
a16z and Galaxy Digital Pile In as Institutions Turn Bullish
Since August 2025, a16z has been accumulating HYPE aggressively. On-chain data suggests the firm may now be the sixth-largest HYPE holder on-chain and the largest external entity, with one known address holding 3.095 million HYPE worth over $223 million. Between May 28 and 30, multiple associated addresses withdrew or purchased large amounts from exchanges and market makers—one transaction alone involving 253,947 HYPE at an average price of $59.2, and another buying 226,121 tokens. Since April 14, one address has accumulated 3.9 million HYPE at an average price of $49.4.
Galaxy Digital also joined the fray, withdrawing 179,000 HYPE ($12.62 million) from Coinbase on June 3, after another wallet purchased 158,100 HYPE on May 21. Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan called HYPE a “second-generation cryptocurrency” with real value capture and institutional demand. A Grayscale report even positioned Hyperliquid as a potential future challenger to traditional derivatives exchanges and a financial services giant. Institutional perception has clearly shifted from mere altcoin to strategic asset.
Russell 3000 Inclusion and the DAT Flywheel
PURR, a DAT company betting heavily on HYPE, appeared on the preliminary list for the June 2026 Russell 3000 index rebalance. Inclusion would trigger passive index fund buying and boost visibility. PURR is already sitting on $1.25 billion in unrealized gains as HYPE climbs. If it adopts a “buy crypto with borrowed funds” model similar to Strategy, it could become yet another source of sustained HYPE buying pressure.
The $100,000 bet between Arthur Hayes and Kyle Samani is far from settled. With spot ETF inflows intensifying, the AF mechanism repurchasing tokens daily, major institutions adding to positions, and possible index inclusion on the horizon, HYPE is evolving from a speculative altcoin into a multi-layered value-capture asset. Its $75 all-time high may be just the beginning.