Bitwise CIO Says Market Mispricing Hyperliquid and HYPE After ETF Launches
Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan argues Hyperliquid and its HYPE token are undervalued, following the launch of US spot ETFs from Bitwise and 21Shares. HYPE has risen roughly 20% to 25% in the past week, according to the two reports, trading near $48.
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Hougan's Core Argument
Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan says investors are mispricing Hyperliquid by treating it as a standard perpetual futures exchange. In comments reported by NewsBTC and CryptoPotato, Hougan described the platform as a financial "super app" spanning commodities, S&P 500 futures, pre-IPO stocks, foreign exchange and prediction markets, in addition to crypto assets.
Hougan's valuation estimate is the most specific figure in his remarks. NewsBTC reports he put annual revenue in the range of $800 million to $1 billion, which he presents as room for the business to be valued on a broader basis. The sources do not report a matching revenue figure from Hyperliquid itself, so that estimate should be read as Hougan's projection rather than a disclosed financial result.
Volume Mix and Growth Claims
CryptoPotato reports Hougan's claim that nearly half of Hyperliquid's trading volume now comes from non-crypto assets, and that the share could reach 70% by year-end. He also cited roughly $170 billion in monthly trading volume. These are his figures, cited in a recent memo, and the sources do not include independent volume data to confirm them. Hougan further said the platform remains unavailable to US users while still describing it as one of the fastest-growing financial businesses he has seen.
Hougan also tied the platform's growth partly to the regulatory environment under SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, whose November 2025 remarks, according to CryptoPotato, supported multi-asset trading platforms operating outside conventional SEC structures.
Fee Model and Token Design
The central element of Hougan's case is the fee structure. Both reports say Hyperliquid directs 99% of trading fees toward buying back HYPE. Hougan calls HYPE a "Gen 2" token designed from the outset to accrue value, contrasting it with "governance tokens" from the Gary Gensler era that he says had little economic link to their underlying applications. The 99% figure is described as the platform's reported policy, and neither source includes an on-chain verification of actual buyback volumes.
Price Action and ETF Context
The price figures differ slightly between the two reports. NewsBTC says HYPE is up 77% year to date, is trading just above $48, and sits about 18% below its all-time high of $59 set last year. It puts the one-week gain near 20%. CryptoPotato reports the one-week gain as over 25%. The gap likely reflects different measurement windows or timestamps, and the sources do not reconcile it.
The rally coincides with two spot ETF launches. CryptoPotato reports that 21Shares introduced the first US spot ETF tracking HYPE under the ticker THYP, and that Bitwise followed with BHYP on the NYSE. NewsBTC gives the order slightly differently, saying 21Shares launched earlier in the month and Bitwise launched last week. Both agree that the two funds are the relevant catalyst. CryptoPotato also notes that HYPE is leading a market where other large-cap assets have struggled.
Limits of the Bullish Case
Hougan's remarks are those of an asset manager with a product in the market, and both reports present them as his view. The sources offer no independent valuation work testing the $800 million to $1 billion revenue range, and the 99% buyback policy and volume shares rely on company and Hougan statements. Readers should weigh the claims as attributed opinion and reported company policy until they can be checked against on-chain data.
Why It Matters
For Traders
HYPE's recent gains followed fresh ETF listings, but the sources disagree on the size of the one-week move, so position sizing should reflect that uncertainty.
For Investors
Hougan's thesis treats HYPE as a fee-linked token and Hyperliquid as a multi-asset venue, a framing that will be tested by whether non-crypto volume share actually grows.
For Builders
The 99% fee-to-buyback design is being cited as a template for token value accrual, so teams modeling tokenomics around Hyperliquid's structure should verify the buyback mechanics on-chain.
This article is for information only and is not financial advice. Read the full disclaimer.
