Bitwise Hyperliquid ETF trades over $40 million in first three hours

The rapid trading volume highlights growing investor interest in blockchain-based ETFs, potentially influencing future financial product innovations.

hyperliquid logo
The BHYP fund, which holds and stakes HYPE tokens, drew heavy early volume on NYSE Arca
Thu 29 Oct 2026 · 12:29 EDT · 2 min read
In Finance
Share
The Bitwise Hyperliquid ETF traded more than $40 million in its first three hours of trading.
What BHYP actually holds
The fund trades on NYSE Arca under the ticker BHYP. It carries CUSIP 09175T106, for anyone who likes their identifiers precise.
BHYP holds HYPE directly. HYPE is the native token of Hyperliquid, a blockchain built for trading derivatives.
The fund stakes approximately 70% of its holdings, with that share subject to monthly liquidity reviews.
Staking means locking up tokens to help secure a network in exchange for rewards. It works a bit like earning interest on a deposit, except the bank is a blockchain and the interest is paid in more tokens.
The roughly 30% left unstaked serves a practical purpose. ETFs need to handle redemptions, and staked tokens can’t always be pulled out instantly.
In-house staking and a 0% net fee
Bitwise handles staking through its own unit, Bitwise Onchain Solutions. According to the research findings, that makes BHYP the first US-based spot ETF to include in-house staking through that arm.
The news moving money, markets, and the world—before your day starts.
Daily. Free. Join 34,000+ readers across crypto, finance, and policy.
We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe anytime.
The fund lists a sponsor fee of 0.34%, but a net expense ratio of 0% after waivers.
Why Hyperliquid, and why now
Hyperliquid is not a sleepy corner of crypto. The network recorded around $2.9 trillion in onchain derivatives trading volume in 2025.
Hyperliquid also holds a significant share of open interest in onchain derivatives.
The research findings characterize investor interest as strong relative to peer altcoin ETF launches. The first-session volume figure fits that picture.
What this means for investors and issuers
The $40 million figure measures trading volume, not net new money. Volume counts every share that changed hands, including market makers seeding liquidity and traders flipping positions within the same session.
The staking structure adds another layer for investors to weigh. The 70% staked figure, and the monthly reviews governing it, will be worth watching. If redemptions surge, Bitwise’s liquidity buffer becomes the fund’s most important feature.
The fee waiver deserves attention too. A 0% net expense ratio is a strong hook, but waivers can expire, and the 0.34% sponsor fee sits underneath.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Vivian Nguyen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.