A Little-Known Crypto Trade Is Suddenly Pulling In ETF Money After Coinbase Move

The race to dominate the emerging Hyperliquid ETF market is accelerating following a major partnership between Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:COIN) and the Hyperliquid ecosystem. The catalyst came after Coinbase announced it would become Hyperliquid's official treasury deployer for USDC liquidity management. Market participants viewed the move as a significant institutional endorsement of the fast-growing decentralized derivatives platform. The announcement helped fuel a sharp rally in Hyperliquid's native HYPE token, which climbed about 14.55% on Thursday, while Hyperliquid-linked ETFs also saw a spike in activity. THYP Sees Record Trading Day According to Michael Friedman, Director of Capital Markets at 21Shares, the firm's recently launched 21Shares Hyperliquid ETF (NASDAQ:THYP) recorded its strongest trading session since inception. "THYP had its best day yet seeing $8.1M in traded value and net inflows of ~$4.9M," Friedman said. "Volume and inflows were likely driven by a combination of factors including HYPE being the top performing asset on the day up ~14.55% on the day as of the US close. Additional traction was likely generated by the joint announcement by Coinbase and Hyperliquid around Coinbase managing USDC liquidity on Hyperliquid and a phase out of USDH." Read Also: 21Shares Bets Big On Hyperliquid With New Crypto ETFs Amid DeFi Boom The inflow momentum stems from ETF issuers rushing to capitalize on growing investor appetite for crypto infrastructure products beyond traditional exposure to Bitcoin and Ethereum. On Friday, the Bitwise Hyperliquid ETF (NYSE:BHYP), one of the first U.S.-listed spot Hyperliquid ETFs with integrated staking capabilities. Wall Street Bets On DeFi Infrastructure Hyperliquid has rapidly emerged as one of the fastest-growing ecosystems in decentralized finance. The Layer 1 blockchain processed roughly $2.9 trillion in trading volume in 2025, according to the BHYP launch press release, while commanding nearly 60% of global on-chain derivatives open interest. The platform also handles approximately 200,000 orders per second and has expanded into spot trading, lending, borrowing and Ethereum-compatible smart contracts through HyperEVM. The recent ETF launches suggest Wall Street firms are increasingly betting that decentralized trading infrastructure could become crypto's next major institutional investment theme. Image: Shutterstock