Something pretty cool just happened for Hyperliquid and its token HYPE. It got added to a real, US-listed crypto ETF for the very first time. The ETF is called NCIQ, and it comes from a company named Hashdex.
This isn't some random small fund either. It's an actual index ETF that people can buy shares of, just like they would with a stock. And now, HYPE is sitting inside it with a 3.4% weighting. That might sound small, but it's enough to make HYPE the fifth-biggest holding in the whole fund, right behind Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Solana.
So What Is NCIQ, Exactly?
NCIQ tracks something called the Nasdaq CME Crypto Settlement Price Index. That's a mouthful, so here's the simple version: it follows the daily closing value of a crypto index built by Nasdaq and CME Group together. Basically, it's a trusted way to measure how a basket of top cryptocurrencies is doing, all in one number.
As of September 1, the fund had about $431.37 million in it. Shares closed that day around $19.46, just a touch under the fund's actual value per share of $19.50.
Bitcoin's Slice Got a Little Smaller
Here's something interesting. When HYPE got added, Bitcoin's share of the fund actually dropped, from 78% down to 74.6%. Meanwhile, Solana's slice grew a bit too, going from 3.2% up to 3.7%.
This kind of shuffling happens when a fund rebalances. Basically, when a new coin joins, something else usually gives up a little room to make space. It doesn't mean Bitcoin is doing badly, it just means the fund adjusted its mix.
The rest of the fund includes Ethereum, XRP, Cardano, Chainlink, Stellar, and Bitcoin Cash. So HYPE is now sitting above coins like ADA, LINK, and XLM in terms of weighting, which is a pretty big deal for a token that's still fairly new to the institutional side of things.
Why Hyperliquid Has Been on a Roll Lately
For anyone who doesn't know, Hyperliquid is a blockchain built mainly for something called perpetual futures trading. In simple words, that lets people bet on whether a crypto's price will go up or down, without actually having to own the coin itself.
HYPE hit an all-time high price of $84.80 in late August. A big reason behind that jump was a buyback program the project runs, which is funded using yield from its reserves. That's a fancy way of saying the project uses money it earns to buy back its own token, which can help support the price.
Right now, HYPE is trading at $81.76, up about 5.74% in the last 24 hours. Its total market value is close to $18.31 billion, which puts it at number ten among all cryptocurrencies by market cap.
This Fits a Bigger Pattern
This isn't happening in a bubble. Big money has been flowing into crypto ETFs all year. Bitcoin ETFs have kept pulling in steady inflows, and Solana ETFs recently saw their strongest stretch in months.
At the same time, not every fund provider agrees on how to build these products. Some, like a newer benchmark from S&P Dow Jones and Pantera, have actually chosen to leave Bitcoin out completely and focus on other coins instead. So there's clearly more than one way people think these index funds should be built.
What This Could Mean Going Forward
Getting into an ETF is a nice milestone for any crypto project. It shows that bigger financial players are starting to take a token seriously enough to include it alongside names like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Whether HYPE's slice of the pie keeps growing from here really depends on future rebalances. If the project keeps performing well and demand keeps building, it's possible we see its weighting rise even more down the line. But that's something only time will tell.
For now, though, this is a solid step for Hyperliquid, and it's worth keeping an eye on how things develop from here.
Disclaimer: Above content is meant to be informational in nature and should not be interpreted as investment advice. Trading, buying or selling cryptocurrencies should be considered a high-risk investment and every reader is advised to do their own research before making any decisions.
