Arthur Hayes Exits HYPE as Token Pulls Back From $75 Highs
Hayes cited macro risk and “AI IPO” mania, while 10x Research flagged rich valuation and a June token unlock overhang.
BitMEX cofounder Arthur Hayes said he sold his entire HYPE position, and Hyperliquid’s token pulled back roughly 10% from record highs near $75 to about $67. The exit came days after Hayes reiterated a $150 target, refocusing traders on positioning risk, valuation, and a June token unlock.
Key Takeaways
- Arthur Hayes disclosed on X that he sold his entire HYPE position and also exited NEAR.
- HYPE traded down to about $67 from record highs near $75 after the disclosure, a pullback of roughly 10%.
- Hayes framed the sale as profit-taking amid broader market caution tied to energy prices, AI IPOs, and a potential market peak into September, not a change in his Hyperliquid view.
- 10x Research warned HYPE looked overextended after a roughly 100% monthly gain and pointed to a large June token unlock as a potential selling catalyst.
Hayes Says He Dumped HYPE, and the Token Slips From $75 to $67
Arthur Hayes wrote on X, “I just dumped my entire HYPE and NEAR position,” confirming a full exit from both tokens. HYPE immediately pulled back to about $67 from record highs near $75, a move that put a high-profile seller headline on top of already extended price action.
Hayes tied the decision to macro and market risk rather than token-specific deterioration. He pointed to rising energy prices linked to the Iran conflict, several high-profile AI IPOs expected in coming months, and his view that financial markets could peak between now and September. “Time to take profit,” he wrote.
Even after the drop, HYPE remained up more than 70% since mid-May and roughly 166%–167% year-to-date, keeping it in the top tier of 2026 performers. That matters for flow because strong YTD winners tend to keep dip-buyers engaged, even when the tape turns choppy.
Why a $150 Target Followed by a Full Exit Hit Sentiment
The sentiment hit was less about the act of selling and more about the sequencing. Hayes had reiterated a $150 price target just days earlier and published a March essay outlining a roadmap for how HYPE could reach that level. A public bull flipping to a public full exit compresses the time traders have to reprice the narrative, which can amplify volatility.
The social layer turned into a second-order catalyst. DeFiance Capital founder Arthur Cheong criticized the move as “the epitome of a guy that over-trades his position.” TraderSZ, who has more than 683,000 followers on X, questioned why investors treat Hayes’ calls as actionable signals.
For traders, the key framing is that Hayes explicitly positioned this as flow-driven risk management. That reduces the odds the move is a thesis break, but it does not reduce the mechanical impact of a large seller headline when momentum is stretched.
Hyperliquid’s Onchain Perp Engine: $40B Weekly Volume and $1B Spot Assets
Hyperliquid operates a blockchain-based onchain perpetual futures exchange, using a transparent order book rather than a centralized venue. Perpetual futures are leverage instruments with no expiry, and onchain execution makes positioning and market structure more observable than on opaque venues.
The platform has cleared around $40 billion in weekly perpetual futures volume and about $1 billion in spot assets. It has also become a closely monitored venue for weekend commodity prices and pre-IPO stocks, a sign that traders are using it as a real-time price discovery rail when traditional markets are closed.
Those traction metrics are the backbone of the bull case. They also explain why a pullback does not automatically reset the longer-term narrative.
Valuation Check: 25x Projected Fees, Revenue Below Peak, and a June Unlock Ahead
10x Research founder Markus Thielen called Hyperliquid “one of the most impressive businesses in crypto,” citing roughly 77% gross margins, fully onchain infrastructure, and a token buyback program funded by protocol revenue. But he also warned the rally looked overheated after a roughly 100% gain in about a month.
At highs near $75, Thielen pegged HYPE at roughly 25x projected fee revenue, near the richest levels seen over the past year, while protocol revenue remained well below its peak. That combination tends to make price more sensitive to any catalyst that shifts marginal flows.
The cleanest scheduled catalyst is supply. Thielen flagged a large token unlock scheduled for June as a potential source of incremental selling pressure, though the exact date and size were not specified.
When Influencers Sell, the Real Catalyst Is Supply and Flows
I treat Hayes’ exit as a sentiment catalyst layered on top of a market already priced for perfection. The threshold that matters is whether HYPE can reclaim the prior highs near $75 or whether it keeps accepting trade below roughly $67, because that will signal whether dip demand is real or just reflexive.
The real test is whether the June unlock details, once known, look absorbable versus typical liquidity and turnover. If activity metrics like weekly perp volume and protocol revenue start recovering toward prior peaks while unlock supply is digested, the setup starts to look structural rather than narrative-driven.
