Spot ETF filings tied to decentralized trading protocols have moved from novelty to competitive category, with multiple asset managers now racing to capture the same underlying asset.
Grayscale filed an S-1 registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday for a spot Hyperliquid ETF, entering a queue that already includes Bitwise and 21Shares. According to the announcement, the proposed Grayscale HYPE ETF would track the price of the HYPE token and trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker GHYP. Coinbase is listed as custodian. No management fee was disclosed in the filing.
One structural distinction sets Grayscale’s proposal apart from its rivals. Bitwise amended its September filing in December to include staking — a feature that allows investors to earn yield on top of price exposure — while 21Shares left room for staking in its October filing. Grayscale says it may incorporate staking rewards at a later date if certain conditions are met, but has made no commitment to do so.
Staking is not a minor footnote; for token-based ETF products, it represents the difference between a pure price-tracking vehicle and one that generates ongoing returns for shareholders.
The timing of these filings reflects Hyperliquid’s growing footprint beyond retail crypto trading. The protocol, which operates a perpetual futures platform and its own blockchain, has seen increasing integration by traditional finance participants who use it to trade tokenized real-world assets — including oil and gold — during hours when conventional markets are closed. That 24/7 availability has made the platform a practical utility for a growing segment of institutional users.
On the volume side, Hyperliquid maintains its lead in decentralized perpetuals trading, though its peak has passed. According to DeFiLlama data cited in the report, weekly trading volume on the platform now runs between $40 billion and $100 billion, down from highs reached in August. Competitors including Aster, Lighter, and edgeX emerged in 2025 and have taken a portion of overall activity, though none approach Hyperliquid’s weekly figures consistently. Total weekly perpetuals trading volume across platforms has ranged between $125 billion and $300 billion in 2026 — more than double the levels recorded at the same point a year earlier, even if below the November peak.
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Whether any of the three pending ETFs receive SEC approval, and in what form, remains an open regulatory question. What is clear is that asset managers are treating HYPE as a sufficiently mature asset to justify competing S-1 filings, each with modestly different structural terms.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice.
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