Key Highlights
- Hyperliquid’s $90M HYPE move to spot wallets ahead of the $314M unlock could trigger selling pressure and shake short-term prices.
- Whale activity and the massive HYPE unlock make key levels around $34–$42 crucial for traders to watch closely.
- Despite insider promises, the $314M HYPE token release may stir daily sell-offs, keeping traders on alert for price swings.
Hyperliquid’s team transferred $90 million worth of HYPE tokens from staking to spot wallets. According to HypurrScan, the team’s Ethereum address 0x43…a251 moved 2.6 million HYPE at 12:32 UTC+8 today.
The HyperLabs wallet still holds 240 million staked HYPE, worth about $8.36 billion. Nearly all of it, around $8.28 billion, remains staked, while roughly $74 million sits in spot balances, hinting the team is gearing up for the upcoming token unlock, set to take place today.
Market data shows the wallet has no active contracts or vaults, but recent activity shows frequent HYPE movements. Transfers range from 15,625 to 74,999 HYPE, valued between $538,000 and $2.59 million, mostly sent to external addresses, suggesting active redistribution.
The wallet also received small amounts of other tokens, including 6,969 GPT worth $0.12, 69 PURR at $5.95, and 69.42 KNTQ valued at $11.43.
Hyperliquid team did not sell tokens yet
Despite speculation, the team has not sold any HYPE tokens yet. HypingBull noted, “The miracle didn’t happen. Hyperliquid distributed rewards to team members and returned the rest to staking.”
“Hyperliquid team received 2.5M HYPE and started doing multiple 1 HYPE transactions to new wallets. It looks like they are testing the airdrop… Why would they do this, if not for the airdrop?,” HypingBull added in their earlier X post. Also, not only HypingBull confirmed, DEGEN NEWS said that Hyperlabs sold only one HYPE.
Market implications of token transfers
Traders are paying closer attention to the market as project-linked wallets move tokens to spot balances. Tokens that are in staking cannot be sold, whereas spot tokens can hit exchanges immediately. Thus, this does not confirm liquidation but opens the door for possible selling decisions.
Recent activity also coincided with a large short position. According to MLM on X, one whale shorted 1,677,529 HYPE valued at $51.65 million across 54 wallets. The liquidation point sits about 12% above the current price, indicating it is a highly risky, heavily leveraged trade.
In the recent HYPE price drop from $39 to $32 almost two weeks ago, open interest started to appear on Binance with approximately 1.1 million HYPE ($30.8 million). This activity then flipped funding negative for the first time in three weeks.
The whale used a $9 million margin and already secured $5.34 million in unrealized profits. Investigations link several wallets to Arbitrum, Ethereum, and Solana networks. Some transfers tied to Solana’s $WOULD token, which reached a $700 million market cap earlier this year.
Hyperliquid’s token unlock
Hyperliquid will release $314 million worth of HYPE tokens today. This event marks the most significant tokenomics release for the decentralized exchange yet. The unlock raises questions about how selling pressure will be managed.
BitMEX Co-Founder Arthur Hayes warned, “Insider assurances cannot eliminate uncertainty surrounding the release.” Traders must anticipate daily sell pressure regardless of team statements. The price-to-fully diluted valuation ratio has already discounted some of this risk, a trend expected to continue unless revenue growth outpaces supply expansion.
As of writing, according to CoinMarketCap, HYPE was trading at $35.44, while trading volume for 24 hours stands at $389 million, with a market capitalization of $11.93 billion. The circulating supply is at 336.68 million out of a maximum of 1 billion, while projections show this steadily growing through 2034.
Distribution data shows 37.74% of tokens are unlocked, while the rest are locked. The current insider ownership is 15.9%, with airdrops constituting 82.2%. In due time, the insider ownership is expected to reach 45.8%, airdrop 47.7%, and farming 6%.
Technical outlook
Analyst Umair Crypto noted, “The sweep above $36.53 cleared liquidity cleanly, confirming strength before a pullback.” A retest around $33.78 could set up a new leg toward $40.26–$41.70, where both the 50SMA and 200SMA converge.
As per the analyst, if HYPE struggles around $40–$42, prices could drop toward the mid-20s, but breaking above $41 with strong volume might push it toward $50, even eyeing the $70 all-time high.
With $314 million in HYPE tokens about to hit the market, some price swings are almost certain. Traders should stay alert and watch key levels closely.
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