Grayscale Dumps Coinbase for Anchorage in HYPE ETF Custody Shake-Up

Leading asset manager Grayscale has now updated its HYPE ETF (ticker: GHYP) filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to designate Anchorage Digital as its custodian, replacing Coinbase.

HYPE ETF: Why Grayscale has replaced Coinbase with Anchorage Digital

Notably, Grayscale has decided to replace Coinbase with Anchorage Digital, mainly for competition, concentration, and regulatory reasons.

In terms of competition, Hyperliquid (the protocol behind the HYPE token) has become a prominent rival to Coinbase. The decentralized exchange recorded about $2.6 trillion in notional derivatives volume for 2025/early 2026. Meanwhile, Coinbase reported $1.4 trillion over the same period. These two, being opponents, therefore create a conflict of interest in the contract. 

Secondly, regulators and issuers are continuously pushing for the diversification of custodians to prevent market monopoly and the associated financial risks. Coinbase is already custodian to about 80% of the US spot crypto ETF market.

Thirdly, Anchorage Digital stands out for its compliance, as it is the only federally chartered crypto bank in the US. In contrast, Coinbase remains state-regulated.

Another reason for the shift is risk reduction, which has also led BlackRock to choose Anchorage as its secondary custodian for its Bitcoin and Ethereum trusts.

Furthermore, Anchorage offers robust institutional staking services. This aligns with Grayscale’s plans to offer staking rewards for the ETF product, pending regulatory approval. 

Competitor’s action and HYPE price

Grayscale competitors like 21Shares and Bitwise have made the same change for the same reasons.

At press time, the HYPE token had suffered a minor 0.23% pullback to $41.03 amid heightened sell pressure.

Source: CoinMarketCap

However, institutional interest and token burns are seen as major fundamental positives for the ecosystem. The community also greatly anticipates the upcoming HIP-4 upgrade for prediction markets, which is expected to catalyze HYPE’s price to higher levels.