TL;DR
Grayscale replaces Coinbase custodian with Anchorage Digital Bank in filing.
Anchorage holds OCC charter giving it qualified custodian status.
Coinbase custody serves nearly all US spot bitcoin ETFs today.
Grayscale Investments filed an amended document for its proposed Hyperliquid exchange-traded fund on April 20. The change removes Coinbase Custody Trust Company from the role of primary custodian. In its place, the filing names Anchorage Digital Bank. This adjustment moves beyond standard operational housekeeping. It signals a deliberate choice about how the asset manager wants to position the fund in front of federal regulators.
Coinbase Custody serves as the main keeper of assets for nearly every spot Bitcoin ETF that trades on United States exchanges today. That makes its removal from this particular filing stand out. Grayscale did not simply pick a different service provider.
It chose a firm that holds a charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Anchorage Digital Bank is the first federally chartered crypto bank in the country. That status gives it a qualified custodian designation under federal banking law. Coinbase does not carry this same federal charter.
The distinction matters for a filing tied to the Hyperliquid token. The underlying trading platform for perpetual swaps is currently walled off from United States users. Grayscale’s decision suggests a belief that a bank with a direct federal charter presents a cleaner regulatory profile to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Anchorage operates solely as a custodian and a bank. It does not run a retail trading exchange. Therefore, the arrangement sidesteps certain questions about conflicts of interest that have appeared in broader conversations about market structure.
This is not a new relationship forged overnight. Grayscale had already added Anchorage as a secondary custodian for parts of its Bitcoin and Ethereum trusts back in August 2025. The new filing escalates that existing connection to a primary position.
Meanwhile, other firms seeking a Hyperliquid ETF are making similar choices. The filing from 21Shares, amended on April 14, names Anchorage Digital Bank and BitGo Bank & Trust as joint custodians. The pattern across multiple issuers points to a shared understanding. They seem to agree that an OCC charter carries weight during the SEC review process.
The proposed fund would trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol GHYP if it receives clearance. However, the path to approval contains more than one hurdle. The filing includes a feature for staking rewards. That portion of the plan requires a separate sign-off from the SEC.
The core listing of the ETF and the authorization for staking are effectively two distinct regulatory events. One can proceed without the other.
A material change to a filing can reset the timeline. That means the amendment could extend the waiting period for a final decision. Grayscale’s action reframes the conversation around the fund. It puts the focus squarely on the infrastructure of custody.
