Latest news: Bitwise is leaning towards Hyperliquid as one of the emerging cryptocurrency platforms this cycle.
- Bitwise head of research Ryan Rasmussen said the company is seeing strong investor interest in its HYPE ETF products following the recent launch of BHYP.
- Rasmussen said Bitwise differentiates itself by staking HYPE internally to maximize returns for ETF investors.
- The company also allocates 10% of management fees to purchasing HYPE tokens for its own balance sheet “to align with the Hyperliquid community,” Rasmussen said.
- Bitwise publicly shares wallet addresses linked to its HYPE ETF reserves so investors can verify their on-chain holdings.
What does this mean: Hyperliquidity is increasingly being framed as infrastructure.
- Rasmussen argued that Hyperliquid could become “one of the systems that most traditional finance will use in the future.”
- He pointed to the growth of perpetual futures, prediction markets and spot trading as evidence that the ecosystem is expanding beyond its initial niche.
- Rasmussen also cited tokenized stocks, stablecoins, and 24/7 trading as trends that could benefit Hyperliquid in the long term.
- He referenced the recent Coinbase-Hyperliquid partnership tied to USDC liquidity as another sign of institutional momentum.
The case of the bull: Bitwise believes Hyperliquid benefits from the changing cryptocurrency regulatory climate.
- Rasmussen said projects like Hyperliquid can now launch with stronger token incentives because the industry faces less fear of regulatory action than in previous cycles.
- He highlighted Hyperliquid’s tokenomics and noted that “99% of the fees generated on this platform are used to buy and burn HYPE tokens.”
- Rasmussen compared the mechanism to traditional share buybacks, arguing that it creates an easier narrative for investors to understand.
- Bitwise said it sees long-term advantages tied to the adoption of perpetuals, tokenization and blockchain-based financial infrastructure.
The risks: Regulatory scrutiny and macroeconomic uncertainty remain major concerns.
- Rasmussen acknowledged that US oversight of perpetual futures markets could create pressure for Hyperliquid and similar platforms.
- He also cited concerns about inflation, Federal Reserve policy and geopolitical tensions as broader risks affecting crypto markets.
- Traditional exchanges are reportedly pushing regulators to take a closer look at Hyperliquid as decentralized competitors gain traction.
- Rasmussen characterized that resistance as typical of incumbents facing disruptive technologies.
Wider view: Financial advisors are moving beyond basic crypto skepticism.
- Rasmussen said wealth managers are increasingly asking about portfolio allocation, tokenization and stablecoins rather than wondering if cryptocurrencies will “go to zero.”
- Rasmussen said institutional adoption remains early despite growing interest from companies managing trillions of dollars.
- He described the quality of conversations with advisors today as “much better” than two years ago.
