From AAVE to HYPE: Bitwise bets on altcoins with 11 crypto ETF filings

Digital asset manager Bitwise plans to expand its presence in altcoin ETFs in 2026. According to a recent SEC filing, the firm has applied for 11 new U.S Spot crypto ETFs.

According to the Bitwise strategy, the investment in these altcoin ETFs will be split 60/40, where 60% is a direct investment in the underlying asset, while the rest involves derivatives and other ETPs. 

The targeted crypto assets include Aave [AAVE], Zcash [ZEC], Uniswap [UNI], Hyperliquid [HYPE], Sui [SUI], Starknet [STRK], Near Protocol [NEAR], Bitensor [TAO], Ethena [ENA], Canton [CC], and TRON [TRX]. 

In 2025, the regulator greenlighted several altcoin ETFs, including Solana [SOL], Ripple [XRP], Hedera [HBAR], Litecoin [LTC], Chainlink [LINK], and even a memecoin product, Dogecoin [DOGE] ETF. 

It appears that there’s still room to add more and enable traditional players to gain exposure in the rapidly growing blockchain industry. As one analyst, Chad Steingraber, summed it up, 

“2026 is going to be year of the crypto ETF. A whole new market has just opened up to crypto.”

But what are the short-term to mid-term impact on the underlying assets? 

ETFs’ impact on altcoin

Most top crypto assets now have at least demand lines, typical on-chain users, ETFs, and corporate treasuries. 

Worth pointing out that Bitcoin [BTC] and Ethereum [ETH] benefited from institutional demand in H1 2025, driving their respective values to record highs. BTC crossed $126,000 while ETH nearly reached $5,000 before the late 2025 market rout reversed the gains. 

However, the latest wave of crypto ETF approvals hasn’t enjoyed a similar price boost despite attracting over $1 billion in institutional inflows. 

XRP ETFs, for example, have attracted $1.16 billion in cumulative inflows as of 30th of December, yet the XRP price has remained muted below $2.   

A similar scenario was observed in U.S Spot SOL ETFs. The products have experienced only three days of net outflows since their debut in October.

Overall, they have seen $763 million in inflows, with total net assets almost reaching $ 1 billion. But SOL  declined from $195 to $124 over the same period. 

The rest of the altcoin ETFs, such as LINK, LTC, and HBAR, exhibited a similar trend: rising demand but muted price action. In fact, only the DOGE ETF hasn’t attracted significant inflows. 

Although the assets’ prices may pick up if broader market sentiment improves, Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart warned that the sector was becoming overcrowded and a shakeout was likely. 

Final Thoughts

• Bitwise sought SEC approval on 11 new crypto ETFs following the regulator’s greenlight to some altcoin ETFs in 2025. 
• Still, the strong demand for altcoin ETFs has not boosted the prices of underlying assets like SOL and XRP.