HYPE has recently faced a 10% price drop as Hayes sold $5 million worth of tokens, creating panic among traders.
Hyperliquid’s native token, HYPE HYPE $48.89 24h volatility: 7.0% Market cap: $13.19 B Vol. 24h: $879.67 M , faced a steep 10% drop on Sept. 22, wiping more than $1.7 billion off its market cap in the past day. This decline comes as BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes liquidated his entire HYPE position, 96,628 tokens worth about $5.1 million.
This sell-off comes only a month after Hayes publicly forecasted a 126-fold price surge over the next three years.
On Sept. 21, LookOnChain revealed Hayes netted roughly $823,000 in profit, representing a 19% gain on his initial purchase. The crypto community quickly responded on social media, prompting Hayes to respond earlier that day.
Arthur Hayes(@CryptoHayes) just sold all 96,628 $HYPE($5.1M) he bought a month ago, making ~$823K(+19.2%).
During his speech at the WebX Summit on Aug 25, he predicted a 126x upside for $HYPE, but is now out with less than a 20% gain.https://t.co/B6z5x7dOsv pic.twitter.com/69s0ZzIIii
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) September 21, 2025
In a post referencing a statement by his family office, Maelstrom, Hayes explained:
“This is why we dumped HYPE today. But don’t worry 126x is still possible, 2028 is a long way off.”
In an X post, he referenced a statement by his family office, Maelstrom, noting that starting Nov. 29, nearly 238 million HYPE tokens will begin vesting linearly over 24 months.
According to the post, buyback programs can absorb only about 17% of that amount, leaving a monthly supply overhang of around $410 million.
The potential unlock schedule has unsettled traders. Even major initiatives, including the much-anticipated Sonnet fund expected to close in late 2025 with roughly $583 million in HYPE, may barely dent the sheer scale of tokens set to hit the market.
This is why we dumped $HYPE today. But don’t worry 126x is still possible 2028 is a long way off. https://t.co/VLSISNzbcc
— Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) September 22, 2025
However, Hayes acknowledged that HYPE’s long-term trajectory remains bullish. “Don’t worry 126x is still possible, 2028 is a long way off,” he wrote.
Whale Sell-off Pressure Intensifies
Adding to the selling pressure, another large holder, believed to be Techno Revenant, recently withdrew 2.39 million HYPE (valued at $122 million) from its wallet. This wallet accumulated the tokens about nine months ago at $12 each, leaving more than $90 million in unrealized gains.
A whale (likely @Techno_Revenant) withdrew all 2.39M $HYPE($122M) 4 hours ago and could be selling for profit at any time.
On-chain data shows these $HYPE were bought 9 months ago by the main wallet 0x316f…e678, which is tagged as @Techno_Revenant.
His estimated cost basis is… pic.twitter.com/X5y7YEqHHq
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) September 21, 2025
Despite the short-term volatility, HYPE remains one of the top crypto coins in the current cycle. Since its launch in November 2024, the token has climbed about 1,400%. At the time of writing, it is trading at nearly $48.50 with a market capitalization of $16.21 billion.
Notably, during his August address at the WebX Summit, Hayes predicted that HYPE could climb 126x in value within three years. He contended that ongoing fiat currency debasement would fuel stablecoin growth and could boost Hyperliquid’s annualized fees to around $255 billion.
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