Bitwise HYPE ETF pledges 10% fees to buybacks

Bitwise will devote 10% of its HYPE ETF management fee to buying HYPE on its balance sheet.

Bitwise Asset Management announced that it will devote 10% of the management fee from its Bitwise Hyperliquid ETF (NYSE: BHYP) to holding HYPE on its balance sheet. The firm said the move mirrors Hyperliquid’s own tokenomics, which routes roughly 99% of protocol revenue through its Assistance Fund to repurchase HYPE.

“Hyperliquid’s token is explicitly designed so that rising trading activity on the Hyperliquid platform directly benefits token holders,” said Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer of Bitwise. “This has translated into historically strong returns. We think it’s one of the most exciting assets in crypto.”

HYPE ETF structure and the buyback signal

BHYP launched on NYSE on May 15 with a 0.34% sponsor fee, waived for the first month on the fund’s first $500 million in assets. It is the only US-listed Hyperliquid product to stake HYPE through the issuer’s own infrastructure rather than a third party. As crypto.news reported, HYPE rebounded toward $46 following the launch and has recovered roughly 65% since the start of 2026.

The 10% fee commitment adds a second capital channel into HYPE beyond staking. Bitwise stakes the fund’s holdings through Bitwise Onchain Solutions, with rewards flowing back into the fund after a 15% fee. Adding balance sheet purchases from management fees means institutional capital flows into HYPE through two parallel mechanisms.

Competing with BHYP is 21Shares’ THYP product, which launched on Nasdaq earlier in the week and drew approximately $1.2 million in inflows on its first day. Together, the two HYPE ETFs have accumulated more than $5.6 million in total net inflows.

Why the fee model matters for HYPE

Hyperliquid saw $2.9 trillion in trading volume in 2025, up more than 400% year on year, and currently commands roughly 60% of all on-chain derivatives open interest globally. HYPE’s market cap stands above $11 billion, making it the tenth-largest crypto asset by market capitalisation.

As crypto.news documented in its April filing update, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas flagged the addition of the BHYP ticker and fee details as signs the fund was approaching launch.

The fee-to-buyback pledge aligns Bitwise’s incentives directly with Hyperliquid’s community-first model. Every dollar of management fee generates a fraction of HYPE that sits permanently on Bitwise’s balance sheet, creating a demand mechanism that scales with fund AUM alongside ETF inflow growth.