Bitwise filed its second amended S-1 registration statement with the SEC on April 10, disclosing a ticker symbol ($BHYP), a 0.67% annual management fee, and four named trading counterparties for a proposed spot Hyperliquid ETF. The fund would list on NYSE Arca and hold HYPE tokens directly, with Anchorage Digital handling custody.
The filing is the most detailed yet in what has become a four-way race. Grayscale submitted its own HYPE ETF application (ticker GHYP, targeting Nasdaq) in March. 21Shares and VanEck have also filed. None have received SEC approval, but Bloomberg's senior ETF analyst noted that the level of specificity in Bitwise's latest amendment, particularly the ticker and fee disclosure, typically signals a launch is approaching.
A Perp DEX in an ETF Wrapper
Hyperliquid is not a blockchain in the traditional sense. It runs a custom L1 built specifically for order-book trading, and its core product is a decentralized perpetual futures exchange. The platform handled over $200 billion in monthly trading volume as of March 2026 and generated $833 million in fees over the past year, making it the fifth-largest fee generator in crypto behind Tether, Tron, Circle, and Lido.
That fee revenue is what separates this from the wave of speculative altcoin ETF filings. Hyperliquid has a working product with measurable cash flows. The protocol's total value locked sits above $1.68 billion, and its stablecoin (USDH) has reached a $5.3 billion market cap.
HYPE itself is up 103% year-to-date, trading around $41.80 as of April 11, 2026. BTC sits at $72,702 (+0.5% over 24 hours) and ETH at $2,242 (+0.8%), with the Fear and Greed Index at 49 (Neutral).
Who Bitwise Picked to Move the Tokens
The amended S-1 names FalconX (operating as Solios, Inc.), Flowdesk, Nonco LLC, and Wintermute Trading Ltd. as approved Hyperliquid trading counterparties. This is a more institutional roster than most altcoin ETF filings disclose at this stage.
Anchorage Digital, a federally chartered crypto bank, will serve as custodian. Bitwise has used Anchorage for previous products, including its Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs.
The filing also references a staking component: approximately 85% of staking rewards would be retained by the fund after fees. If approved, BHYP would be one of the first US ETFs to offer built-in staking yield on an altcoin position, a structure the SEC has historically been cautious about.
The Competitive Field
Grayscale's GHYP filing last month was the first to target a HYPE ETF. 21Shares and VanEck followed. All four are competing for a market that barely existed a year ago.
The broader altcoin ETF pipeline has expanded in 2026. Canary Capital filed for a spot PEPE ETF in early April. Solana, XRP, and Litecoin ETF applications are also pending. But Hyperliquid stands apart from these because its ETF thesis rests on protocol revenue, not just token price speculation. The $833 million in annual fees gives fund managers something concrete to point to in conversations with the SEC.
That does not guarantee approval. The SEC has delayed several altcoin ETF proposals this year, and staking integration adds regulatory complexity. But the pace of filing amendments, especially one that adds a ticker symbol and names specific counterparties, suggests the issuers believe a decision window is opening.
What a HYPE ETF Would Actually Mean
A spot HYPE ETF would let traditional brokerage account holders gain exposure to Hyperliquid without touching a crypto exchange, a self-custody wallet, or a bridge. That is the same access thesis that drove Bitcoin ETF inflows past $11 billion in Q1 2026.
For DeFi more broadly, this would be a first. No decentralized protocol has ever had a US-listed spot ETF. Uniswap, Aave, and Lido all have higher market caps, but none have attracted a four-way filing race. The difference is revenue. Fund managers can build a pitch deck around $833 million in annual fees. They cannot build one around governance token emissions.
Whether the SEC agrees is a separate question. The staking element, the relatively thin secondary market compared to BTC or ETH, and the novelty of wrapping a DeFi protocol in a 1940 Act structure all give the Commission reasons to take its time.
Overview
Bitwise filed its second amended S-1 for a spot Hyperliquid ETF on April 10, 2026, adding ticker $BHYP, a 0.67% management fee, and naming Anchorage Digital as custodian with FalconX, Flowdesk, Nonco, and Wintermute as trading counterparties. It joins Grayscale, 21Shares, and VanEck in a four-way race to launch the first US spot ETF for a DeFi protocol. HYPE is up 103% year-to-date, and Hyperliquid generates $833 million in annual protocol fees, making it one of the highest-revenue DeFi platforms in crypto.
