Investors Shift to HYPE Funds, Abandon Bitcoin and Ether ETFs

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Investors are turning to HYPE and XRP funds while abandoning bitcoin and ether ETFs.

By Omkar Godbole|Edited by Sheldon RebackUpdated May 25, 2026, 6:44 p.m. Published May 25, 2026, 10:28 a.m. 2 min readMake preferred on

Key Points:

• Over $1 billion was withdrawn from bitcoin ETFs last week, with more than $215 million pulled from ether funds, indicating a decreased interest in large-cap crypto investments.
• Conversely, investments are flowing into specific altcoins, with HYPE spot products raising approximately $72 million, and XRP and SOL ETFs garnering $22 million and $15.6 million, respectively.
• The HYPE token from Hyperliquid has seen a remarkable 59% increase this month, driven by rising fees and heightened trading activity in markets linked to real-world assets.

Recent trends in crypto fund distributions reveal a shift in investor behavior as funds are redirected away from bitcoin BTC$77,483.75 and ether (ETH) ETFs towards alternative tokens like Hyperliquid's HYPE and XRP.

Last week, bitcoin ETFs experienced a massive outflow exceeding $1 billion, continuing a trend of significant institutional withdrawal, while ether funds saw an additional loss of $215 million, according to SoSoValue data. This ongoing outflow from the two dominant cryptocurrencies highlights a reduced interest in broad crypto exposure.

However, these withdrawals are not consistent across the board.

Spot funds focused on Hyperliquid's HYPE token, managed by Bitwise and 21Shares, received a total of $72.38 million, indicating that capital is being strategically reinvested rather than exiting the market entirely. XRP and Solana ETFs also saw inflows of $22 million and $15.6 million, respectively.

Timothy Misir, head of research at BRN, noted in an email, "The broader message: capital has not left crypto uniformly. It is rotating toward newer narratives and away from crowded large-cap exposure."

Hype is Real

The significant interest in HYPE ETFs, which launched just a week ago, coincides with a notable price surge for the token and strong network activity.

Data from CoinDesk indicates that the token has risen from $38 to $63 in the last ten days, achieving a 59% gain this month, a stark contrast to bitcoin's mere 1% increase.

Hyperliquid has generated $13.2 million in fees over the last week, ranking fifth among platforms, following major stablecoin players like Tether and Circle Internet (CRCL), with Canton Network in fourth place, as per DeFiLlama data, largely attributed to significant incentives.

The platform's revenue is projected to grow further due to a recent partnership with Coinbase and Circle to incorporate USDC as a quote asset.

Some analysts suggest that Hyperliquid is quickly becoming a competitor to conventional trading platforms and prediction markets, citing its performance since the Iran war began in late February, where its HIP-3 market has consistently executed millions in trading volume tied to real-world assets (RWA) such as oil, gold, and U.S. equity indexes.

According to Artemis, a data tracking site, "Hyperliquid's fundamental metrics continue to strengthen across the board as HIP-3 markets reached new weekly highs at 2.6B in open interest across RWA perpetual markets. HIP-4 launched outcome markets recently, showing more modest growth."

They added, "Equity perpetuals, pre-IPO markets, and prediction markets are still in their infancy, and Hyperliquid is well-positioned to take advantage of this momentum."