Arthur Hayes, Co-Founder of BitMEX, has sold his entire stash of Hyperliquid (HYPE) tokens, proffiting roughly $823,000. Initially, Hayes playfully said that the funds were going to be used to buy a Ferrari. Later, Hayes clarified with the actual reason; that the sale was driven by heavy sell pressure from massive token unlocks set to begin on November 29.
Blockchain data from HypurrScan, highlighted by Lookonchain, showed Hayes sold his 96,628 HYPE tokens at a 19.2% profit on September 21.
Following this, Hayes first posted on X with a mischievous reply, “Need to pay my deposit on the new Rari 849 Testarossa.” The HYPE sale came just a month after he predicted that the token could surge 126x over the next three years.
Later, Hayes provided further context, linking to an article titled “HYPE’s Damocles Sword” to explain the main reason behind the dump. He also reassured followers that the token’s long-term potential remains, noting that a 126x increase is still possible and that 2028 is “a long way off.”
HYPE faces a critical test following initial success
HYPE, the native token of the Hyperliquid decentralized derivatives exchange (DEX), has seen remarkable growth. At the time of writing, HYPE was trading at $48.90, down around 9% in the past 24 hours. According to CoinMarketCap, trading volumes have surged dramatically, rising 136% and reaching $552 million.
Additionally, trading activity picked up sharply in August, climbing from roughly $560 million at the beginning of the month to reach a record $3.4 billion on August 24, as reported by DefiLlama.
However, in the article shared by Hayes, analyst Maelstrom flagged an upcoming challenge for HYPE. Starting November 29, 237.8 million HYPE tokens will begin vesting linearly over 24 months. At $50 per token, this amounts to roughly $11.9 billion in team unlocks, adding nearly $500 million to the market each month. This might add a supply overhang of some $410 million monthly.
Even large decentralized autonomous trusts (DATs) like Sonnet, with $583 million in HYPE and $305 million in cash, might cover only a small fraction of these unlocks.
Is Hayes going to reinvest?
Hayes’ sale highlights the difference between personal financial decisions and broader market trends. It is also not known if Hayes intends to re-invest in HYPE.
However, he does have a track record of making bold market predictions. Earlier this month, he said that Bitcoin will surge past $200,000, arguing that traditional four-year halving cycles no longer dictate the market. He also suggested that U.S. Treasury liquidity measures could push crypto markets into an “up only” phase.
While Hayes HYPE sale indicates a personal investment decision, it does not always indicate the long-term prospects of the token. It is recommended to investors to look at market trends, trading volumes, and other data and make decisions bearing in mind that crypto is highly volatile.
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