HYPE surged to an eight-month high of $57 on Thursday, rallying 16% in a single day and 40% over the past week. The move outran every other top-100 crypto asset by a wide margin, fueled by steady buying from two new U.S. spot ETFs and a short squeeze in futures markets.
ETFs outmuscle the buyback fund
21Shares' THYP and Bitwise's BHYP, both launched May 12, have pulled in a combined $47.8 million in net inflows — including $25.4 million in a single session. Adjusted for market cap, those ETF flows beat Bitcoin on three of the last six trading days and Ethereum on five of six. They lagged Solana on four of six, but the raw token demand is noteworthy: ETFs have bought 2.5 times more HYPE than the Hyperliquid Assistance Fund has burned since launching. The fund uses 97% of protocol fees to buy back and destroy tokens.
Grayscale loads up, stakes holdings
Grayscale filed for its own HYPE ETF back in March and has been quietly accumulating since. Wallets linked to the firm now hold 510,387 HYPE, worth about $24.95 million at current prices — and those tokens are staked, earning yield while the application winds through the SEC. The filing is still pending, but Grayscale's early positioning suggests it expects approval.
Short squeeze adds fuel
The rally got an extra kick from negative funding rates across perpetual futures markets. Short sellers were forced to cover as HYPE climbed, sending open interest above $1.92 billion despite millions in liquidations. That level of leverage sticking around after a squeeze hints that traders aren't convinced the move is done — but it also leaves the market vulnerable to another violent unwind if momentum stalls.
The next concrete milestone is the SEC's decision on Grayscale's ETF application, which could come within weeks. If approved, another wave of institutional demand would hit a token supply that's already shrinking faster than the buyback fund alone can keep pace with.
