On Monday, U.S. crypto ETF fund flows continued to diverge. Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs combined recorded a net outflow of $112 million, while the two Hyperliquid-related ETFs posted net inflows for the eighth consecutive trading day, indicating that institutional capital is shifting from mainstream crypto assets toward newer themes with higher volatility and stronger growth expectations.
Major crypto ETFs continue to experience outflows
According to SoSoValue data, Bitcoin ETFs recorded a net outflow of $105.2 million on Monday, while Ethereum ETFs saw a net outflow of $6.7 million. In the previous week, digital asset investment products experienced a total outflow of $1.47 billion, marking the third-largest weekly outflow since 2026.
This round of capital outflow occurred amid rising risk-off sentiment. The report noted that geopolitical tensions stemming from the situation in Iran have intensified the market's retreat from risk appetite. Meanwhile, rising U.S. Treasury yields have also dampened the willingness of arbitrage capital to allocate to crypto ETFs.
Tim Sun, Senior Researcher at HashKey Group, told Decrypt that after Bitcoin’s price fell below the average purchase cost of certain ETFs, market selling pressure emerged; meanwhile, the overall upward shift in U.S. Treasury yield curves has dampened arbitrage capital’s enthusiasm for participation.
Hyperliquid-related funds attracted assets despite market headwinds.
In contrast to the outflows from mainstream ETFs, two Hyperliquid-related ETFs have recorded net inflows for eight consecutive trading days. On Monday, the two products combined saw net inflows of $10.95 million, and together they attracted $25.5 million in net inflows last week.
This round of net inflows began on May 13, with approximately $1.17 million in new funds added that day. Since then, daily inflows have fluctuated between $4.4 million and $25.5 million, reaching a peak on May 20.
As funds continue to flow in, the HYPE token price has also strengthened, reaching a new all-time high of $64.21 on Sunday. Reports indicate that HYPE has risen nearly 50% over the past month, with a year-to-date gain exceeding 140%.
Institutions tend to favor high-growth themes.
The report suggests that interest in Hyperliquid-related products is linked to its ETF's market performance following its listing and institutional support. Bitwise previously stated that it will allocate 10% of the management fee revenue from its newly launched Hyperliquid ETF (BHYP) toward directly purchasing and holding HYPE, which will be recorded on the company’s balance sheet.
Tim Sun stated that the current market remains in a holding pattern. Options data shows no clear unilateral direction from institutions or retail investors, with more capital being allocated to purchasing downside protection and reducing overall risk exposure, rather than betting on a rapid rebound or a sharp one-sided decline.
However, he noted that Hyperliquid continues to face increasing regulatory pressure. Recently, CME and ICE jointly pushed for greater scrutiny of the platform by the U.S. Congress, meaning that compliance issues are escalating alongside its business expansion.
Additional information: As of publication, Bitcoin is trading at approximately $77,100, down about 0.3% over the past 24 hours. Data from the prediction market Myriad cited in the article shows that users believe there is a 74% probability Bitcoin will retest $84,000 next, down from 86% on May 14.