Autor Cointelegraph By Jesse Coghlan

US-based exchange-traded funds tied to HYPE recorded a 50% trading volume jump on Wednesday, in a rare move for newly debuted ETFs, according to analysts. Two Hyperliquid (HYPE) ETFs from issuers Bitwise and 21Shares have recorded nearly $41 million in total value traded since their launches earlier this month, with trading volumes increasing since their debuts, according to SoSoValue.Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said in an X post Wednesday that such trading increases for ETFs are “very rare,” and many normally record a “big splash [on] day one then drop off OR oblivion for months until [people] notice it. Rare to build in first week like this.”Balchunas pinned the ETFs’ growth on a “perfectly timed launch as EVERYTHING (stocks, bonds, gold, btc [Bitcoin], cryptos) is down lately except the HYPE.”Source: Eric BalchunasThe Hyperliquid token has gained 120% so far this year and is up 18.5% in the past day to $56, according to CoinGecko. Traders have flocked to the token and the platform, with some analysts viewing it as the next trendy crypto play because it has captured a large portion of the crypto perpetual futures market.Over the past year, the S&P 500 has gained 8.6%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 has gained 16%, while Bitcoin has fallen 11%. It comes a day after Bitwise, one of two issuers of a US-based HYPE ETF, said traders had mispriced HYPE, arguing the platform is more than just a crypto exchange, but a “super-app” encompassing multiple asset classes.Related: Hyperliquid eyes 55% price rise after Silicon Valley investor’s ‘massive HYPE buy’21Shares was the first to launch a HYPE fund in the US, launching its 21Shares Hyperliquid ETF (THYP) on May 12 and drawing $1.2 million in net inflows, far below other altcoin ETF launches such as those for Solana staking. The Bitwise Hyperliquid ETF (BHYP) debuted later that week on May 14 to $750,000 in net inflows, The two ETFs recorded their highest day of net inflows Wednesday, with a combined $25.5 million in net inflows. The 21Shares ETF recorded $16.6 million, while Bitwise’s ETF recorded $8.8 million. Crypto asset manager Grayscale also filed for a Hyperliquid ETF in March, with the planned fund currently being processed by US regulators.The X account Lookonchain said on Wednesday that two wallets linked to Grayscale had purchased $25 million worth of HYPE over the past week and staked it, but its not known if the move is tied to the company’s planned ETF.Magazine: Metric signals $250K Bitcoin is ‘best case,’ SOL, HYPE tipped for gains: Trade Secrets

Crypto asset manager Bitwise has called Hyperliquid “one of the most mispriced assets in crypto today,” despite its outperformance so far this year.“Hyperliquid is one of the most important crypto projects to emerge in years,” Bitwise investment chief Matt Hougan said in a note on Tuesday. “Its native token, HYPE, is the best-performing large-cap crypto asset of 2026, up 77% YTD [year to date]. And yet I still think investors are underestimating its impact and its value.”Bitwise launched a HYPE exchange-traded fund on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday. 21Shares launched a similar HYPE fund earlier that week, which drew only $1.2 million in net inflows, low compared to other altcoin ETF debuts. Hougan said HYPE’s mispricing is partly due to the market valuing Hyperliquid solely as a perpetual crypto futures exchange, when it should be priced as a “global super-app.”Hyperliquid’s main focus is the popular sector of crypto perpetual futures trading, but the platform also has trading linked to stocks, prediction markets and other assets, with Hougan adding that the platform sees nearly half of its volume tied to non-crypto assets.Source: Matt HouganOther crypto platforms have also looked to expand beyond just crypto, with many major US crypto exchanges, such as Coinbase, Kraken and Gemini, working to expand into prediction markets and tokenized equities trading to shore up their balance sheets.Related: ICE, CME press US regulators to ‘rein in’ Hyperliquid energy trading: ReportSEC Chair Paul Atkins has also given his support to “super-apps” that can custody and trade multiple assets on one regulatory license. He has tasked the regulator with exploring how it can allow tokens tied to securities to trade on platforms it doesn’t regulate.Hougan argued that Hyperliquid “has become the ‘super-app’ Atkins envisioned — a ‘non-SEC regulated platform’ offering investors exposure to ‘a variety of asset classes.’”He added, however, that the platform “still needs to mature” as it is not available in the US and would need to integrate itself into the country’s regulatory system.BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes was also bullish on HYPE in a March blog post, saying the platform could continue to see its token rally if it continues to pull volume away from centralized exchanges and expand its product offerings.Magazine: Your guide to surviving this mini-crypto winter 

AI Financial Corp., a World Liberty Financial token treasury company, said a deficit in working capital and liabilities is casting significant doubt on its ability to continue over the next year. The company, which has World Liberty CEO Zach Witkoff as its chairman, reported a net loss of $271.5 million in its first-quarter results on Monday, compared to losses of $2.4 million a year ago.The firm, formerly known as ALT5 Sigma, said that as of March 28, it had a working capital deficit of around $5.5 million, with $39.1 million in liabilities against $32.2 million in assets.“These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date these financial statements are issued,” AI Financial said.AI Financial was one of the many companies swept up in the craze of crypto-buying public firms, becoming a buyer of World Liberty Financial (WLFI), the token of the Trump family-backed crypto platform of the same name.To meet its obligations, AI Financial said it held 7.3 billion WLFI tokens at a value of $703.4 million as of March 28, which it could use to firm up its liquidity.However, the value of AI Financial’s WLFI holdings has fallen by a third since late December, when the fair value of the tokens was at over $1 billion, leading to an unrealized loss of $348.3 million. The company paid nearly $1.46 billion to acquire its WLFI holdings.AI Financial added that it also borrowed nearly $15 million from World Liberty in January, drawing down the cash under a loan agreement with the Trump-linked firm, which it said it could use in a share repurchase program and to buy more WLFI tokens.Shares in AI Financial (AIFC) ended trading down nearly 6.3% on Tuesday at 85 cents, extending its 10% drawdown over trading on Monday.Source: Google FinanceRelated: Trump-backed Truth Social pulls bids for crypto ETFsThe company’s stock has fallen by nearly 87.5% over the past 12 months. It first looked to become a WLFI treasury company in early August after closing a $1.5 billion direct offering and private placement led by World Liberty Financial.At the time of the deal closing, Witkoff became AI Financial’s chairman, while World Liberty co-founder Zak Folkman became a board observer.US President Donald Trump’s son, Eric Trump, joined the company’s board, but was quietly removed from the leadership section of its website late last month. Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions

Crypto exchange Kraken has reportedly laid off some of its staff as a cost-cutting measure, which could delay its planned initial public offering in the US until next year.The company, whose corporate name is Payward, laid off about 150 workers due to efficiencies from deploying artificial intelligence across the business, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing a person familiar with the matter.The person said AI is being used more extensively throughout Kraken, but the company is not planning further job cuts at the moment.Crypto-related companies have cut more than 5,000 jobs so far this year, with many citing increased efficiencies from AI as a reason for the layoffs. Block Inc. undertook the biggest round of layoffs by a crypto company so far in 2026, cutting 4,000 staff or about half its workforce in February in an AI-driven cutback.A decline in crypto prices since late last year has also stung public crypto companies’ balance sheets, with many reporting losses in their first-quarter earnings.Kraken’s cuts have reportedly pushed back its plan to go public sometime this year, with the company now eyeing a debut in the US in 2027.Cointelegraph reached out to Kraken but did not receive an immediate response. Kraken’s plans to go public have been on and off for months. In November, the company confidentially filed with US regulators to go public before pausing its IPO in March due to a declining crypto market.Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi reiterated Kraken’s confidential IPO filing last month when he was asked onstage at a conference whether there were plans to take the company public soon, but he did not share a timeline.Source: SemaforRelated: How AI became crypto’s favorite reason to cut staffThe layoffs at Kraken come in the same week that crypto data company Dune said it laid off 25% of its workforce, citing a need to restructure its business and focus on its core products.Coinbase cut 700 employees, or about 14% of its workforce, earlier this month, on May 5, citing an increase in AI use. Rival crypto exchanges Gemini and Crypto.com also laid off 200 and about 180 employees, respectively, earlier this year, both citing the rising use of AI.Magazine: Guide to the top and emerging global crypto hubs: Mid-2026

The US Senate’s crypto market structure bill could take until August to pass and risks not advancing at all if lawmakers cannot pass it before the midterms, said Greg Cipolaro, head of research at financial services firm NYDIG.Patrick Witt, a senior White House crypto adviser, said earlier this month that he was targeting July 4 for the Senate’s crypto bill to pass, saying there was enough time for a Senate markup, floor vote and House vote. “This may represent an aspirational benchmark rather than a fixed legislative deadline,” Cipolaro said in a note on Friday. “The realistic window, however, is June through early August.”The crypto market structure bill would outline how US watchdogs would regulate crypto and is seen as one of the most important pieces of crypto legislation this year. However, it has been marred by delays as lawmakers and lobbyists have sought to add or amend provisions around stablecoins and government officials’ use of crypto, among other issues.The bill passed a long-delayed markup in the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday, which voted largely along party lines to advance it to the Senate floor, where it will need 60 votes to avoid prolonged debate and pass.Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott, pictured at the markup. Source: US SenateRepublicans hold a 53-seat Senate majority and will need at least seven Democrats on board to pass the bill quickly, but some Democrats are concerned that the bill does not go far enough in preventing crime and sanctions evasion.Cipolaro said Congress has a recess from late July to early September and will then return to a period ahead of the midterm elections in November, when Senate leadership “is unlikely to schedule a contested 60-vote floor fight.”“If the bill misses that window, the highest-probability remaining pathway becomes a post-election lame-duck session, available only if Republicans hold the Senate and Majority Leader [John] Thune prioritizes it over government funding deadlines,” he added.Current polling and predictions show a tight race for control of the Senate, with some forecasts showing Republicans with a slight edge, while others put key seats as tossups that could put Democrats in control of the chamber.Cipolaro said that if Democrats gain control of the Senate, the current Republican-backed crypto market structure bill is unlikely to advance in the next Congress when it begins in January.“Congressional negotiators face a tradeoff between accepting an imperfect bipartisan framework in 2026 versus risking a substantially different legislative environment after the midterms.”Cipolaro said that if the bill is passed and signed into law, crypto markets would get a boost as major institutions would be confident enough to invest in the space because of the legal clarity. It would also grant regulatory certainty to Bitcoin, classifying it as a commodity under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and closing “the last significant regulatory overhang for Bitcoin as an institutional asset class,” he added.However, Cipolaro said the bill could fail because of stalled negotiations over provisions regarding ethics or decentralized finance enforcement, or because of scheduling delays, which would mean the crypto industry would continue to operate under “permanent jurisdictional ambiguity.”Magazine: Clarity Act risks repeat of Europe’s mistakes, crypto lawyer warns