21Shares has listed the first hyper-liquid Exchange Traded Product (ETP) on the SIX Swiss Exchange, allowing investors direct exposure to the HYPE token amid surging DeFi activity. This milestone signifies a growing interest in regulated investment products within the decentralized finance sector.
21Shares Launches Hyperliquid ETP
21Shares, a Swiss-based asset manager and provider of cryptocurrency Exchange Traded Products (ETPs), has introduced the Hyperliquid ETP on the SIX Swiss Exchange. This new financial instrument offers both institutional and retail investors a way to gain exposure to Hyperliquid’s native token (HYPE) without the need for on-chain wallets or custodial services.
This listing marks the first institutional-quality investment vehicle providing direct access to the Hyperliquid protocol. The launch follows a significant price surge for the HYPE token, which recently hit an all-time high of $50.99, highlighting the platform’s rising prominence in the decentralized finance (DeFi) derivatives space.
Mandy Chiu, Head of Financial Product Development at 21Shares, praised Hyperliquid’s trajectory, stating, “Its growth has been extraordinary, and the underlying economy is among the most compelling we’ve seen in this space.” Established in 2018, 21Shares has a history of launching regulated digital asset products, including the first physically-backed crypto ETP, as well as crypto spot ETFs in the U.S. The company offers a range of crypto ETPs across Europe, encompassing single asset offerings such as Solana (SOL) and Dogecoin (DOGE), as well as diversified baskets and staking-focused funds.
The Rapid Rise of Hyperliquid in DeFi
Launched in late 2022, Hyperliquid operates as a layer-1 blockchain with a decentralized exchange specializing in perpetual futures contracts. Unlike many DeFi platforms that utilize automated market makers, Hyperliquid employs a traditional on-chain order book to directly match buy and sell orders. Transactions are settled in less than a second without reliance on oracles or off-chain infrastructure.
The exchange’s fee structure directs transaction costs towards daily buybacks of its native token HYPE, thereby supporting demand for the asset. This model has fueled explosive growth in trading volumes, revenue, and user adoption. In July, Hyperliquid processed $319 billion in transactions, marking the highest monthly volume ever recorded for a DeFi perpetuals platform.
This activity contributed to a total of nearly $487 billion in decentralized perpetual transaction volume, according to DefiLlama. The platform has also captured 35% of all blockchain revenue in July, outperforming competitors on Solana, Ethereum, and BNB Chain. Hyperliquid has quickly become the seventh-largest derivatives exchange globally in terms of daily trading activity, boasting over 600,000 registered users as of July.
Although a 37-minute outage on July 29 briefly disrupted trading, the protocol refunded $2 million in losses, garnering community support for its swift response.
Balancing Growth with Market Concerns
Despite its momentum, concerns about market integrity persist. Reports surfaced that four major traders manipulated the market for the Plasma token (XPL), causing its price to spike by 200% to $1.80 before smaller investors suffered significant losses. This alleged manipulation reportedly netted the traders $48 million in profits.
Nevertheless, optimism regarding Hyperliquid’s long-term trajectory remains strong. During the WebX 2025 conference in Tokyo, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes predicted that the HYPE token could appreciate by 126 times over the next three years, citing robust fee revenues from the exchange and broader stablecoin adoption.
As institutional-quality products like the 21Shares Hyperliquid ETP emerge, access to emerging DeFi infrastructure continues to expand, though governance and market risks remain. The rapid ascent of Hyperliquid underscores the growing demand for decentralized derivatives products and financial instruments designed to track their performance.
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