21Shares, a prominent crypto asset management firm, has submitted an S-1 registration statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the launch of an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that will track the Hyperliquid (HYPE) token. This proposed ETF is designed to offer investors exposure to the price performance and staking yields of Hyperliquid without the need for direct ownership of the HYPE token.
The filing was accepted by the SEC on October 29, 2025, representing a significant step towards integrating Hyperliquid's decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem into regulated financial markets. This development comes as Hyperliquid experiences considerable growth as a leading perpetual decentralized exchange (DEX), and 21Shares' filing has further bolstered optimism regarding the platform's market standing.
This move is consistent with a broader trend of increasing institutional interest in crypto ETFs. Recent data from SoSoValue indicates that U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs have seen substantial inflows this month, surpassing $4.57 billion as of October 29.
Driving Hyperliquid's Expansion
According to the S-1 filing, 21Shares intends to employ derivative instruments, such as swap agreements and options, in addition to potential spot HYPE exchange-traded products (ETPs), to achieve its investment objectives. This structure aims to replicate Hyperliquid's on-chain market dynamics, including its perpetual futures and fee mechanisms, while ensuring compliance with SEC regulatory standards.
Earlier in October, 21Shares had filed for a 2X Leveraged ETF for HYPE, signaling the asset manager's optimistic outlook on the cryptocurrency.
Hyperliquid has established itself as a leading participant in the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector in 2025, with trading volumes exceeding $3 trillion, according to Hyperliquid's official statistics. Its fully on-chain perpetual exchange, built on a custom Layer 1 blockchain, offers a gas-free experience and remarkable scalability, giving it an advantage over competitors such as Aster and Lighter.
The success of Hyperliquid is attributed to its optimized architecture, which effectively addresses critical DeFi challenges related to speed, cost, and transparency. This ETF filing has the potential to act as a catalyst for institutional adoption, possibly leading to significant capital inflows into the Hyperliquid ecosystem.
The SEC's Evolving Stance on Crypto ETFs
The SEC's recent approval of generic listing standards for spot crypto ETFs has expedited the approval process. Following this update, the ETF review timeline has been reduced from 240 days to a maximum of 75 days. This regulatory shift, combined with the U.S. President Donald Trump administration's efforts to normalize crypto assets, has created a favorable environment for products tracking assets like Solana and XRP, with Hyperliquid now entering this landscape.