Hyperliquid’s HYPE token has surged to the $56 level, registering an 18.5% increase over the trailing 24-hour period and a remarkable 120% gain throughout 2025, based on CoinGecko market data.
This price appreciation has been strongly correlated with renewed institutional participation in the asset, sparked by the introduction of two US-listed exchange-traded funds.
The dual HYPE-linked ETF offerings — 21Shares’ THYP and Bitwise’s BHYP — have generated approximately $41 million in aggregate trading volume following their May debuts.
21Shares initiated its product on May 12, capturing $1.2 million in initial net inflows. Bitwise entered the market two days later on May 14 with $750,000 in inflows.
Eric Balchunas from Bloomberg ETF analysis highlighted on X that the volume trajectory was “very rare.” He emphasized that most newly launched ETFs experience strong opening-day activity followed by dramatic drop-offs. HYPE’s funds demonstrated the inverse pattern, accumulating volume progressively.
Balchunas credited this unusual performance to market timing: while virtually all other asset classes — equities, fixed income, Bitcoin, and precious metals — experienced declines, HYPE maintained its upward momentum.
Santiment, a blockchain analytics platform, detailed on X that market participants had taken substantial short positions against HYPE during May 18 and 19. Funding rate metrics displayed a pronounced spike into negative territory, signaling widespread bearish positioning with expectations of price depreciation.
Hyperliquid’s native token, HYPE, just pushed back above $50 for the first time in roughly 8 months after traders aggressively bet against the rally on May 18th and 19th. Funding rate data across exchanges showed a major spike in negative funding, which usually means large… pic.twitter.com/hUdSMhmpWf
— Santiment Intelligence (@SantimentData) May 20, 2026
Contrary to these expectations, the token continued appreciating. This development compelled short sellers to close their positions through buyback orders, creating additional upward momentum — a textbook short squeeze scenario, per Santiment’s analysis.
Open interest across HYPE futures contracts continues hovering above $1.92 billion. Santiment observed that, departing from conventional liquidation patterns, fresh market participants maintained entry activity simultaneously with forced exits of existing positions.
Wednesday represented the peak inflow day for both fund offerings. The 21Shares product captured $16.6 million, while Bitwise’s fund secured $8.8 million in new capital.
Cryptocurrency market analyst AltcoinSherpa has projected that “$60 is probably next” for HYPE. He characterized the present $50 range as suboptimal for short-duration trading strategies but appealing for position holders with extended time horizons, given what he perceives as constrained downside exposure.
From a technical perspective, HYPE has defended support within the $45 to $47 corridor. The Relative Strength Index has maintained positioning between 50 and 65, remaining beneath the 70 threshold that indicates overbought conditions. MACD technical indicators have generated bullish crossover formations.
Near-term resistance establishes itself between $50 and $52. A decisive breakout beyond this band could facilitate advancement toward the prior all-time high approaching $59.
Grayscale submitted regulatory documentation for a HYPE ETF in March. Lookonchain, an on-chain monitoring service, documented that two wallet addresses associated with Grayscale acquired $25 million worth of HYPE tokens during the preceding week and committed them to staking protocols.
HYPE was most recently exchanging hands at approximately $51.62, representing an 8.36% appreciation in the 24 hours preceding publication.
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