Hyperliquid News Today: Hyperliquid's $314M Unlock Ignites Sell-Pressure Fears, Silence from Team Deepens Distrust

Hyperliquid's $314 Million Token Unlock Sparks Sell-Pressure Fears and Calls for Transparency

Hyperliquid, a leading decentralized perpetual futures exchange, faces intense scrutiny as it prepares to unlock 9.92 million HYPE tokens-worth approximately $314 million-on November 29. The cliff unlock, which releases all tokens at once, has triggered widespread anxiety among traders and investors, who fear significant sell pressure and price volatility according to reports. BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes, a prominent figure in the crypto space, has bluntly warned that such events introduce "unavoidable selling pressure," emphasizing that even assurances from project teams cannot eliminate uncertainty according to reports.

The unlock represents 2.66% of Hyperliquid's circulating supply and follows a year-long lockup period for core contributor tokens. According to Tokenomist data, this is the largest single token release among 17 major projects scheduled to unlock over $566 million in tokens between November 24 and December 1 according to Tokenomist data. Plasma (XPL) and Jupiter (JUP) also feature prominently, with unlocks of $17.2 million and $12.8 million, respectively according to reports.

Community concerns have been amplified by recent on-chain activity. A user on X, known as Andy, published an open letter urging the Hyperliquid team to address the community directly before the unlock. "The team and airdrop recipients finally able to sell is going to ruffle feathers until you address the community head on," Andy wrote, citing past market trauma from vaporware projects according to reports. Meanwhile, on-chain analyst @mlmabc noted that the team had unstaked 2.6 million HYPE tokens ($85.8 million) just days prior, fueling speculation about potential sales according to reports.

Hyperliquid's team has not officially commented on the unlocking process or the unstaking activity. Critics argue that the lack of transparency contrasts with the project's rapid growth and ecosystem expansion since its November 2024 Token Generation Event (TGE). The vesting schedule, which extends most allocations until 2027–2028, has been misinterpreted by some as a sign of immediate mass selling. However, internal documentation clarifies that the November 29 unlock is a one-time event, not a monthly release according to reports.

The market has already priced in some of the risk. HYPE's price has fallen 23% over the past month, while its price-to-fully diluted valuation (FDV) ratio has declined sharply since July, reflecting anticipation of dilution according to data. Despite this, perpetual decentralized exchange (DEX) volumes remain robust, with Hyperliquid recording $259 billion in trading volume in November-third among the top four perp DEXs, according to DefiLlama.

Arthur Hayes, who recently transferred 19.872 million BIO tokens to Binance, has also forecasted a potential drop in Bitcoin below $80,000 ahead of the Federal Reserve's quantitative tightening (QT) halt on December 1. While Hayes's comments are unrelated to Hyperliquid's unlock, they underscore broader macroeconomic anxieties affecting the crypto market.

Hyperliquid's unlock is part of a larger wave of token releases, with Solana leading linear unlocks at $65 million and TRUMP tokens scheduled for a $31.25 million gradual release according to reports. Analysts caution that large cliff unlocks often lead to market participants reducing positions preemptively, fearing price drops according to reports.

The project's long-term viability hinges on its ability to balance token distribution with ecosystem growth. While the November 29 unlock is significant, Hyperliquid's vesting framework-designed to align incentives over years-suggests that most core contributor tokens will remain locked until 2027 according to reports.