TLDR
- Arthur Hayes sold 247,334 HYPE worth ~$18M after previously predicting a $150 price target
- HYPE dropped from record highs near $75 to around $67 following the announcement
- Hayes cited rising energy prices, upcoming AI IPOs, and macro timing risks as reasons to exit
- 10xResearch’s Markus Thielen warned the rally was overheated, with HYPE trading at ~25x projected fee revenue
- Despite the pullback, HYPE is still up 166% year-to-date and Hyperliquid hit a record 6.63% of global perp volume in May
Hyperliquid’s HYPE token fell sharply after BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes announced he had sold his entire position, just days after calling for prices to reach $150.
Hayes sold 247,334 HYPE tokens for approximately $18.02 million, according to on-chain tracker Lookonchain. The sale pushed HYPE down from record highs near $75 to around $67.
Hayes posted his exit on X, listing three reasons: rising energy prices tied to the Iran conflict, three major AI IPOs expected before Q3, and concerns that markets could peak between now and September. He said a fuller explanation would come in an upcoming essay titled “Reality Test.”
“Time to take profit,” Hayes wrote, adding in a reply: “I’ll be back.”
I just dumped my entire $HYPE and $NEAR position, I will explain why in my essay “Reality Test” dropping next Tuesday.
TLDR:
– Higher energy prices due to Iran war and inventory restocking
– 3 Mega AI IPOs between now and early Q3
– Prediction that Trump goes anti-AI to win…— Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) June 4, 2026
The move drew immediate backlash. Arthur Cheong, founder of DeFiance Capital, called it “the epitome of a guy that over-trades his position.” Crypto trader TraderSZ, who has over 683,000 followers, pointed out that Hayes had recently argued HYPE could be one of the year’s best-performing assets.
Rally Ran Hot, Analysts Say
Markus Thielen of 10xResearch had flagged the rally as overextended before Hayes exited. He called Hyperliquid “one of the most impressive businesses in crypto,” pointing to its ~77% gross margins and onchain trading infrastructure.
But at $75, HYPE was trading at roughly 25 times projected fee revenue — near its richest valuation in a year. Thielen also noted protocol revenue remains below its peak, and a large token unlock in June could add selling pressure.
Despite the short-term concerns, HYPE is still up 166% year-to-date.
Platform Growth Hits Records
Hyperliquid’s fundamentals continued to improve even as the token pulled back. May perpetual futures volume hit a record 6.63% of total global centralized exchange perp volume. Volume relative to Binance reached 14.4%, another all-time high.
Institutional interest is also building. Grayscale’s Hyperliquid ETF, trading as HYPG, is set to launch with a 0.29% fee. Existing ETFs THYP and BHYP have already pulled in $141 million in cumulative net inflows. Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley confirmed over 7.7 million HYPE has been staked to Bitwise validators.
On the price chart, HYPE’s key support sits at $59–$60. A close above the $83–$95 resistance zone would be needed to resume the uptrend toward $110–$130.
Whale positioning data showed the gap between long and short positions narrowing to just $0.01 billion, suggesting large holders may be repositioning.
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