Hyperliquid's HYPE Token Drops 7.04% Amid $11.9B Unlock Event

Hyperliquid's latest price was $47.25, down 7.041% in the last 24 hours. This price drop comes as the cryptocurrency faces significant challenges, including an upcoming token unlock event and increasing competition in the decentralized exchange (DEX) space. Arthur Hayes' Maelstrom fund issued a warning about Hyperliquid's HYPE token facing its "first true test." The fund warned that $11.9 billion worth of tokens will begin vesting on November 29 over a 24-month period for team members. Maelstrom researcher Lukas Ruppert said current buybacks would absorb only 17% of the monthly supply releases. This leaves approximately $410 million in potential selling pressure each month, according to the research. The vesting schedule represents what Maelstrom called a "Sword of Damocles" moment for the token. The unlock schedule will distribute about $500 million worth of HYPE tokens monthly starting November 29. Ruppert noted that even growing digital asset treasuries like Sonnet BioTherapeutics are "just a drop in the bucket compared against impending HYPE unlocks." The researcher warned developers who worked for years would have life-changing sums available with "just one click away."

Token unlock events have historically created significant market volatility for cryptocurrency projects. Token Unlocks data shows that large supply releases often lead to selling pressure as early investors and team members liquidate positions. The crypto market has witnessed several high-profile cases where major unlocks caused substantial price corrections. The monthly release schedule for HYPE represents one of the largest ongoing unlock events in the current market cycle. The token unlock warning comes as Hyperliquid faces mounting competition in the decentralized exchange space. Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao recently promoted Aster, a rival perpetual futures exchange that crossed $2 billion in total value locked following its token launch. The competition has already shown market impact, with HYPE dropping from recent highs near $60 to around $49 as of Monday trading. Meanwhile, rival DEX tokens have gained market share, with perpetual DEX tokens reaching a combined market cap above $22 billion. The decentralized exchange sector has seen explosive growth, with CoinGecko data showing perpetual trading volume hitting a record $898 billion in Q2 2025. However, Hyperliquid's dominance faces challenges from both established competitors and new entrants backed by major industry figures. The upcoming token unlocks could provide competitors with an opportunity to capture market share during a period of potential HYPE price weakness.

Aster, a multichain decentralized perpetual exchange, today introduced 300x leverage trading for the HYPE token, marking one of the highest leverage ratios in decentralized finance. The move allows traders to significantly amplify their positions on the Hyperliquid ecosystem token. Arthur Hayes, chief investment officer at Maelstrom and co-founder of BitMEX, sold 96,600 Hyperliquid (HYPE) tokens for roughly $5.1 million, less than three weeks after his bullish prediction about the asset. Over the weekend, reports emerged that the crypto entrepreneur sold his entire stash of the decentralized exchange platform’s native token, sparking concerns about his position on the protocol. Hayes initially said the sale was made to fund the purchase of a Ferrari. However, Maelstrom later clarified that the decision was rooted in risk management rather than luxury spending. In a Sept. 22 statement on X, Maelstrom pointed to HYPE’s structural challenges, particularly its upcoming token unlock schedule, as a significant factor that could impact its price performance. According to Maelstrom, Hyperliquid faces a “Damocles Sword” moment beginning Nov. 29, when 237.8 million tokens will start vesting linearly over 24 months. At an average price of $50, that amounts to $11.9 billion in potential supply, or roughly $500 million in tokens released monthly. The fund calculated that Hyperliquid’s buyback mechanism can only absorb about 17% of this issuance, exposing roughly $410 million worth of tokens to open-market sales each month. Moreover, the crypto fund noted that demand from digital asset treasury firms like Sonnet might not be enough to save Hyperliquid as their purchases would be “just a drop in the bucket compared against impending HYPE unlocks.” In addition, the firm added that HYPE developers are likely to sell portions of their allocations once vesting begins. According to Maelstrom, “Put yourself in the shoes of a Hyperliquid dev. You’ve worked insanely hard for years. A life changing sum in tokens is starting to vest; and it’s only one click away. What would you do?”

Beyond the token economics, Maelstrom argued that Hyperliquid now faces stronger rivals in the perpetual DEX arena from Lighter and Binance-backed Aster. Over the past week, the new platform has enjoyed significant support from Binance founder Changpeng Zhao and boasts several unique features like hidden orders and multichain support. As a result, Aster has emerged as a darling of the crypto industry, with its DEX volume flipping that of Hyperliquid during the last 24 hours. Considering this, Maelstrom stated, “You don’t eat the crypto establishment’s lunch and walk away unchallenged. Business is war, and the half-life of most crypto products has historically been short – winners attract a swarm of vampire attacks.” Meanwhile, Hayes has not abandoned his bullish stance entirely as he maintained that HYPE could still achieve a 128x gain by 2028.

Large cryptocurrency investors, or whales, are cashing out of Hyperliquid’s native token as concerns grow over an upcoming vesting schedule that could unleash about $11 billion worth of supply. Whale wallet “0x316f” withdrew $122 million worth of Hyperliquid (HYPE) tokens on Monday, which were acquired for about $12 per token. The whale was sitting on around $90 million of unrealized profit nine months after buying the tokens and is likely “selling for profit,” according to blockchain data platform Lookonchain. The selling comes as the HYPE token rallied to a new all-time high of $59.29 on Thursday, but faces its first major test in November when team tokens begin vesting. According to the Hyper Foundation, 23.8% of the total supply allocated to core contributors will start unlocking on Nov. 29, a year after the project’s genesis event. The vesting schedule will distribute about $11.9 billion HYPE tokens over 24 months for the team, which may be the “first true test” for the resilience of the token, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes’ family office fund, Maelstrom, said on Monday. In what it dubbed a “Sword of Damocles” moment, it will introduce about $500 million worth of monthly unlocks, of which only about 17% will be absorbed by buybacks, leaving about $410 million in potential supply overhang, according to Maelstrom researcher Lukas Ruppert. Other whales appear to be shifting to Hyperliquid’s emerging competitor, Aster, a decentralized perpetuals exchange linked to Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao. On Monday, whale address “0x220” bought $10.5 million worth of Aster tokens across two wallets and is currently holding over $6 million in unrealized profit, Lookonchain said in a Monday X post. Over the past week, the Aster token rose by more than 1,700% to become the industry’s fourth-largest DEX token with a market capitalization of $2.5 billion. The HYPE token fell 7.9% during the same period to trade at $49.34 at the time of writing, according to CoinMarketCap data.