Bitwise launched the Bitwise Hyperliquid ETF on the New York Stock Exchange on May 15, 2026, the first U.S. spot Hyperliquid ETF that pays staking rewards back into the fund. The product trades under ticker BHYP and charges a 0.34% sponsor fee, waived to zero for the first month on the fund’s first $500 million in assets. Shares opened with HYPE trading around $44, after the token briefly tagged $46 earlier in the session.
The launch arrives two days after 21Shares listed its competing THYP product, which booked roughly $1.8 million in volume on its May 13 debut. BHYP is structured to capture yield, not just price exposure, by staking the fund’s HYPE holdings through Bitwise Onchain Solutions and routing rewards back to shareholders after a 15% management cut.
A spot crypto ETF is a registered fund that holds the underlying token directly and tracks its market price, allowing investors to gain exposure through a brokerage account without holding the asset on-chain.
Key takeaways
- Bitwise listed BHYP on NYSE on May 15, 2026, the first U.S. spot Hyperliquid ETF with in-house staking.
- The sponsor fee is 0.34%, waived to 0% for the first month on the first $500 million in assets.
- Staking the fund’s HYPE through Bitwise Onchain Solutions returns yield to shareholders after a 15% take, on top of an approximate 2.2% base HYPE staking rate.
- HYPE traded near $44 at launch, with a market cap around $11 billion, ranking among the top 15 tokens by value.
Published: May 16, 2026 09:00 UTC
Context: why a Hyperliquid ETF matters now
Hyperliquid is a layer 1 blockchain built specifically for high-frequency onchain trading. Its perpetual futures exchange processed about $2.9 trillion in volume during 2025, more than four times its 2024 figure, according to Bitwise’s launch release. HYPE rose into the top 15 crypto assets by market cap in under two years.
The ETF wrapper opens that growth story to a different buyer pool. Retail brokerage accounts, registered investment advisors, and 401(k) menus can buy BHYP without setting up a self-custody wallet or bridging to a layer 1. That distribution channel is what made spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs the dominant flow of new institutional money into crypto since 2024.
Bitwise is not first across the line. 21Shares’ THYP started trading May 13 on Cboe BZX, but uses external staking providers. BHYP’s pitch is that running staking internally lets Bitwise keep operational risk inside the fund and pass a higher net yield to holders.
Impact: a new yield-bearing ETF category
BHYP is one of the first U.S. spot crypto ETFs designed to pay staking rewards, rather than simply track price. Base HYPE staking currently yields about 2.2%, according to crypto.news. After Bitwise and its staking agents take 15%, the remainder flows back into the fund and increases the HYPE backing per share over time.
That structure matters for two reasons. First, it gives traditional finance a yield-bearing crypto product that does not require sophisticated DeFi knowledge. Second, it tests whether the SEC is comfortable with staking inside a registered product, after years of treating staking-as-a-service as a potential securities issue.
The competitive landscape is also shifting. The Block reported that 21Shares’ THYP posted a “very solid” first day, and Bitwise enters with a more aggressive fee structure and an in-house staking model. Expect Grayscale, Canary, and other issuers with pending Hyperliquid filings to respond on fees or yield mechanics within weeks.
Regulatory angle
The launch reflects a wider thaw in U.S. crypto policy under SEC Chair Paul Atkins. Earlier in May, Atkins outlined four onchain rules for crypto markets, signaling that staking and DeFi-adjacent structures will get clearer guidance rather than enforcement-first treatment.
BHYP is not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, which means it does not carry the same protections as a traditional mutual fund or ETF. Investors take direct exposure to HYPE’s price volatility, slashing risk on the staked portion, and the operational risk of a young layer 1 chain. Bitwise’s prospectus discloses these conditions in full.
What to watch next
The first signal will be BHYP’s day-one and week-one flows. THYP set a $1.8 million bar on day one. A Bitwise launch with zero fees for the first month and a built-in yield story should clear that, but a strong showing would also pull HYPE’s spot price higher. Beyond that, watch for additional Hyperliquid ETF filings, any SEC commentary on the staking design, and whether other layer 1 tokens (such as Solana or Sui) get the same yield-bearing ETF treatment in coming months.
Frequently asked questions
What is BHYP and how does it differ from a regular crypto ETF?
BHYP is the Bitwise Hyperliquid ETF, a spot fund that holds HYPE tokens and trades on the NYSE. Unlike most spot crypto ETFs that only track price, BHYP stakes its HYPE through Bitwise Onchain Solutions and returns the resulting yield, minus a 15% take, back to shareholders. That makes it a yield-bearing crypto ETF rather than a pure price-tracking product.
What does BHYP cost to own?
The sponsor fee is 0.34%. Bitwise has waived that fee to 0% for the first month on the fund’s first $500 million in assets. After the waiver, investors pay 0.34% on assets plus a 15% cut on staking yield earned inside the fund. Brokerage trading commissions, if any, are separate.
How is BHYP different from 21Shares’ THYP?
21Shares’ THYP launched on Cboe BZX on May 13, 2026 and uses third-party staking providers. BHYP runs staking through Bitwise’s own internal infrastructure, Bitwise Onchain Solutions, which Bitwise argues reduces operational risk and increases the net yield passed to shareholders. Both products give spot HYPE exposure inside a regulated U.S. ETF wrapper.
