A major whale withdrew $122 million worth of HYPE tokens from Hyperliquid’s ecosystem within hours, sparking sell-off fears as the mysterious investor sits on over $90 million in unrealized gains from a nine-month holding period.
On-chain data from LookOnChain reveals the whale, likely identified as Techno_Revenant, purchased 2.39 million HYPE tokens at approximately $12 each and could liquidate the position at current prices around $51 per token.
The withdrawal coincided with high-profile exits from Arthur Hayes and popular trader Ansem, both citing concerns over massive token unlocks scheduled to begin on November 29.
Hayes sold his entire 96,628 HYPE position for $5.1 million, securing $823,000 profit while warning that 237.8 million tokens worth $11.9 billion will create $500 million monthly sell pressure over 24 months.
HYPE price dropped 12% to $49.20 following the selling pressure, even as Hyperliquid maintains daily trading volumes exceeding $10 billion.
The token has remained up over 660% since its launch, but upcoming unlock events threaten to overshadow the platform’s operational success with concerns about supply overhang.
Aster exchange added 300x leverage trading for HYPE tokens amid the volatility, prompting speculation about whether major players are positioning for significant price movements.
When Crypto’s Biggest Bulls Turn Bearish
Arthur Hayes reversed his bullish HYPE stance just weeks after predicting 126x gains by 2028 during the WebX conference in Tokyo.
The BitMEX co-founder had tied his optimistic forecast to Hyperliquid’s growing ecosystem and expected stablecoin market expansion, projecting annualized platform fees could grow from $1.2 billion to $255 billion.
Hayes’ analysis through Maelstrom Fund revealed the mathematical impossibility of current buyback mechanisms absorbing unlock pressure.
With only $85 million in projected monthly buybacks against $500 million in monthly token unlocks, the supply-demand imbalance creates a $410 million monthly overhang that markets cannot absorb.
The article from Maelstrom Fund questioned whether developers facing “life-changing sums” in vesting tokens would resist the temptation to sell.
The research highlighted competitive threats from established exchanges and new platforms, such as Lighter.xyz, suggesting that Hyperliquid faces challenges beyond tokenomics.
Ansem joined the exodus by selling 10,126 HYPE tokens worth $492,000, adding to bearish sentiment among influential traders.
The coordinated selling by prominent figures amplified concerns about institutional confidence in HYPE’s near-term prospects despite strong underlying platform metrics.
Community Fights Back Against Supply Fears
Hyperliquid supporters rejected external proposals to burn 45% of the total supply, arguing that the platform’s existing mechanisms provide sufficient deflationary pressure.
Tobias Reisner, a prominent community advocate, dismissed supply reduction proposals as short-term price manipulation rather than sustainable improvements to tokenomics.
The platform operates three organic burn mechanisms through spot trading fees, HyperEVM gas costs, and auction fees for tickers.
These usage-based burns create natural deflationary pressure that scales with platform adoption, rather than relying on arbitrary supply reductions.
Multiple assistance funds across the ecosystem automatically purchase HYPE tokens using protocol revenues.
Hyperunit generated $2.67 million in fees and deployed 98% for HYPE buybacks, while Hyperdrive created sophisticated mechanisms converting protocol revenues to token purchases and liquidity provision.
Projects including D2 Finance, BasedOneX, and Pear Protocol established similar buyback programs, creating distributed buying pressure across the ecosystem.
BasedOneX alone generated $4.5 million in fees while paying up to 72% to affiliates, expanding the buyback network through revenue sharing.
Major wallet integrations from Phantom and Rabby promised additional institutional buying pressure as these platforms stake HYPE tokens for fee reductions.
The cumulative effect of multiple assistance funds and institutional adoption could provide natural price support during unlock periods.
Decentralized Autonomous Tokens like Hyperion’s HYPD and HypeStrat’s SONN continue bidding millions for HYPE allocations, creating additional demand sources independent of secondary market trading.
These structured products provide long-term holding mechanisms that reduce circulating supply pressure.
Community members argue that organic growth through usage-based burns and protocol-driven buybacks creates more sustainable tokenomics than artificial supply reductions.
The ecosystem’s distributed buying mechanisms could absorb unlock pressure over time while maintaining fundamental value creation through platform expansion and fee generation.
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