Hyperliquid’s native token HYPE dropped below $60 on Tuesday, trading at $58 — a roughly 2% decline on the day and about 24% below its all-time high of $76.70. The move comes after two major investors unstaked a combined $291 million worth of tokens, raising questions about selling pressure in a market where that amount equals nearly 85% of daily trading volume.
Who unstaked and why
Multicoin Capital unstaked approximately 2 million HYPE, worth about $120 million, while Paradigm unstaked 2.92 million HYPE, valued at roughly $171 million. The total — around $291 million — is significant for a token that trades about $340 million a day on average.
Multicoin cofounder Tushar Jain said the unstaking wasn’t a prelude to selling. “We are not selling. This is for wallet rotations to maintain privacy, as institutions are constantly tracked on-chain,” Jain stated. Paradigm did not comment publicly on its move.
Where the tokens went
On-chain analysis by Markets Alpha tracked the unstaked HYPE and found that four linked wallets moved the tokens into custody at Coinbase Prime — not to exchanges for sale. That suggests the tokens are being held rather than dumped on the market.
About 1 million of the unstaked HYPE was sent to Grayscale for its Hyperliquid ETF (HYPG), which began trading on Nasdaq in June. The ETF gives institutional investors exposure to HYPE without holding the token directly.
Market impact so far
Despite the large unstaking, trader ElonTrades noted that Hyperliquid’s usage numbers haven’t changed much. “Derivatives market share and revenue are still where they were before the unlocks,” he said. The platform’s daily trading volume and fee generation remain steady.
Unstaking on Hyperliquid takes about seven days, with most unlocks occurring near the end of July. That means the full effect of the unstaking — if any — may not be visible until later this month.
HYPE is a top-10 token by market cap and was distributed via a 2024 airdrop. The project took no venture capital funding, making the moves by Multicoin and Paradigm particularly notable because they are among the few large holders.
The Hyperliquid ETF (HYPG) continues to trade on Nasdaq, and the tokens sent to Grayscale are earmarked for that product. For now, the market appears to be absorbing the news without panic, but the price remains under its record high.
