21Shares Files for Hyperliquid ETF as DeFi Assets Enter Wall Street

The filing, submitted this week to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, represents another step in the asset manager’s push to expand its lineup of digital investment products beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum. If regulators approve it, 21Shares’ HYPE ETF would become the second fund of its kind in the U.S., following a similar proposal by Bitwise earlier this year.

A Strategic Bet on the DEX Boom

Hyperliquid, often described as a “trader’s exchange,” runs entirely on blockchain infrastructure—no intermediaries, no corporate control. Its popularity has soared thanks to its perpetual futures markets, which let traders speculate on crypto prices with high liquidity and minimal friction. The project’s governance token, HYPE, recently entered the top 20 global digital assets with a market cap above $12 billion, according to CoinGlass.

While the crypto community knows Hyperliquid for its innovation, 21Shares sees something else: a maturing corner of decentralized finance (DeFi) ready to meet traditional capital. The proposed ETF would hold the asset in custody with Coinbase and BitGo, two of the most heavily regulated crypto custodians in the U.S.

HYPE is currently trading at around $47.55, up roughly 33% in a week, reflecting growing investor enthusiasm ahead of potential institutional access through ETFs.

The Bigger Picture: ETFs Reshaping Crypto Access

The SEC’s desk is busier than ever. More than 90 applications for crypto-related ETFs are now under review, many of them targeting altcoins like Solana, Cardano, XRP, and Dogecoin, as well as multi-asset “basket” products.

This wave follows the massive success of last year’s Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, which have collectively attracted almost $180 billion in assets, making them the fastest-growing funds in the ETF industry’s three-decade history. Those launches gave retail and institutional investors a compliant, exchange-listed way to gain exposure to digital assets—without the hassle of managing private wallets or worrying about tax complexities.

Now, firms like 21Shares and Bitwise are trying to extend that same convenience to a broader set of tokens, banking on the idea that altcoin ETFs will be the next frontier in regulated crypto investing.

From Europe to America’s Crypto Capital

For 21Shares, based in Switzerland, this is part of a long-term campaign to expand its reach in the U.S. The company already dominates Europe’s crypto ETP market, offering products tied to everything from Layer-1 blockchains to staking yields. The Hyperliquid ETF represents a deliberate pivot toward decentralized finance exposure, one that could appeal to hedge funds and retail traders alike.

Industry observers say that if the SEC gives the green light, the HYPE fund could serve as a testing ground for more DeFi-related ETFs, validating demand for decentralized trading assets on public markets.

A Turning Point for Altcoins on Wall Street

The rise of funds tied to emerging tokens like HYPE signals a shift in investor priorities. Where early crypto ETFs centered on blue-chip assets, the new generation is focusing on the platforms reshaping market infrastructure itself.

If approved, 21Shares’ new offering could open the floodgates for a new category of regulated altcoin exposure—one that merges Wall Street discipline with DeFi innovation.

And in a year where political tailwinds have turned decisively pro-crypto, the timing could hardly be better.