This article originally appeared in BW’s investing newsletter, the Nerdy Investor. You can subscribe for free here.
If you’ve dabbled in crypto investing, you’ve probably heard of BTC, ETH, SOL, and XRP. Hyperliquid (HYPE) is a little more obscure — and its ticker symbol might feel very on-the-nose to its critics and skeptics.
But here’s where things get weird: Hyperliquid’s core product isn’t the HYPE token. It’s an online trading platform which isn’t currently legal in the U.S. (although that may change soon).
Below, we’re doing our best to shed some light on this complicated and shadowy cryptocurrency project, and the recent dramatic price increase of its core token.
What exactly is Hyperliquid?
As mentioned earlier, Hyperliquid is actually an online trading platform. There’s a crypto token called HYPE that is attached to that platform, but the trading platform is Hyperliquid’s core product.
Many of these things are very new, very risky and exist in regulatory gray areas, which makes the overall legality of the platform questionable in many countries. To that end, the Hyperliquid website blocks U.S. users from trading, in an effort to avoid getting slapped with a big fine by U.S. regulators.
HYPE is the Hyperliquid platform’s native cryptocurrency, and it is legal and available in the U.S., even though its underlying platform is not.
It’s a pretty weird and confusing situation, and to make matters even more complicated, its legal status is in flux right now.
What’s the deal with Hyperliquid’s legal status in the US? How does President Trump factor in?
“The biggest unanswered question may be what ‘Hyperliquid in the U.S.’ actually means. It doesn’t necessarily mean that an American retail investor will open the existing Hyperliquid interface and immediately receive access to every product currently available internationally,” Jung said in an email interview.
There are already spot and leveraged Hyperliquid ETFs
Despite the Hyperliquid platform’s evolving legal status, the SEC has already approved three spot ETFs that track the HYPE token. They’re listed below in order from lowest to highest fee.
|
Fund name & symbol
|
Fee
|
|---|---|
|
Grayscale Hyperliquid Staking ETF (HYPG)
|
0.29%
|
|
21Shares Hyperliquid Staking ETF (THYP)
|
0.30%
|
|
Bitwise Hyperliquid ETF (BHYP)
|
0.34%
|
|
Source: SEC EDGAR database and fund websites. Data is current as of September 28, 2026, and is intended for informational purposes only.
|
|
There’s also one leveraged ETF that tracks HYPE, the 21Shares 2x Long HYPE ETF (TXXH), which uses various Hyperliquid derivatives (like futures) to target twice the daily returns of HYPE.
Why is HYPE up so much this year?
According to Jung, one thing that has propelled HYPE’s strong returns this year is the popularity of its underlying platform. “Hyperliquid has grown into one of the largest venues for on-chain derivatives trading and has generated substantial trading fees,” he said.
Source: Token Terminal. Data is current as of Sept. 30, 2026, and is intended for informational purposes only.
In simple terms, trading on the Hyperliquid platform and paying fees causes the platform to automatically buy the HYPE token, increasing its price. However, there are risks associated with trading HYPE or HYPE ETFs. Hyperliquid’s legalization in the U.S. is uncertain, and regulatory changes could impact the optimism surrounding HYPE. The buyback mechanism driving price increases is dependent on the platform’s popularity and revenue generation, so a decline in trading volumes could challenge its valuation. Additionally, if the platform is perceived as a sketchy internet casino with speculative assets, trading could decline. Despite these risks, the demand for online gambling and lax regulatory oversight may continue to drive the HYPE token’s value upwards in the near future. sentence: The cat jumped onto the table and knocked over a vase.
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The cat ran quickly across the street.
The feline sprinted across the road with speed.