Arthur Hayes has put one of the market’s boldest HYPE targets back into focus, arguing that Hyperliquid’s token can reach $150 by August 2026 if the protocol keeps converting trading volume into fees and buyback demand.
The call is drawing more attention because a Lookonchain-tracked wallet tied to Hayes had withdrawn the same batch of HYPE from Bybit about a month ago at an average price near $39.58. With HYPE still trading far above that entry after its pullback from highs near $62, the position shows about $1.76 million in paper profit.
The wallet later deposited 115,453 HYPE back to Bybit, which sparked debate over whether the move was profit-taking, execution management or simple repositioning. A deposit to an exchange can precede a sale, but it can also support collateral, market-making, liquidity management or wallet restructuring. The transfer is not proof that Hayes sold the tokens.
The larger bullish angle remains intact because the wallet still holds about $13.6 million worth of HYPE. That makes the latest move look less like a full exit and more like a high-profile position adjustment while Hayes continues to publicly argue for a much higher target.
HYPE is trading near $57.87, with a market cap around $13.79 billion and roughly $1.39 billion in 24-hour volume. The token remains close to its record zone, but the pullback from the low-$60s has made whale wallet movements more sensitive for short-term traders.
The $150 Call Depends On Hyperliquid Revenue
Hayes’ bullish case is not based only on price momentum. His model leans on Hyperliquid’s ability to generate real trading fees, keep attracting perp traders and direct a large share of revenue into HYPE buybacks. DefiLlama currently shows Hyperliquid fees near $2.56 million over 24 hours, with cumulative fees above $1.28 billion.
That revenue profile is why HYPE keeps attracting institutional and whale attention. CryptoAdventure recently covered Bitwise and 21Shares-linked HYPE buying, with ETF-linked wallets adding spot demand and staking part of their holdings. Prediction traders have also turned more aggressive, pricing a 30% chance that HYPE reaches $100 before the end of the market window.
The risk is that a strong revenue story does not remove short-term supply pressure. Exchange deposits can precede sales, collateral moves, market-making activity or wallet reshuffling. Without execution data, the Bybit transfer is not proof that Hayes sold HYPE, but it is enough to make traders watch order books more closely around the high-$50s.
HYPE’s next price levels are clear. Holding the mid-to-high $50s keeps the bullish structure alive and gives buyers another chance to reclaim the $60 to $62 zone. A clean break above that band would bring new highs back into focus and keep Hayes’ larger $150 argument alive as a long-range target. A deeper loss of the high-$50s would shift attention from bold upside calls to whether large holders are starting to distribute into one of the strongest altcoin rallies of the year.
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