An early Hyperliquid whale has cashed out 4.99 million HYPE tokens worth $228.76 million, pocketing a profit of $148.63 million from his investment after holding the tokens for nine months, according to blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain.
The whale had bought 5.07 million HYPE at an average price of $16.23 each, and now only holds 77,089 tokens valued at $3.37 million.
Meanwhile, this exit adds to the number of whales moving their money to another platform called Aster DEX on the BNB Chain. Several large holders have sold more than $100 million worth of HYPE over the past week, with funds quickly rotating into Aster.
Arthur Hayes Sparks Attention With Exit
The shift began after BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes sold his entire HYPE position on September 21. According to previous reports, Hayes booked a profit of $823,000 from 96,628 tokens, to purchase the “new Rari 849 Testarossa.”
This raised eyebrows in the crypto space because Hayes had only weeks earlier stood on stage at the WebX 2025 conference in Tokyo and predicted that HYPE could surge 126 times in value over three years. He argued that Hyperliquid’s ecosystem and the growth of stablecoins would push platform fees from $1.2 billion to as much as $255 billion annually.
But despite the forecast, he sold ahead of a looming unlock of 237.8 million HYPE tokens scheduled to begin vesting on November 29. Research from Maelstrom warned the event could add $446 million in monthly selling pressure, far beyond what buybacks can absorb.
HYPE Whales Create Selling Pressure
Other whales have been quick to follow. One holder sold 2.44 million tokens worth $102.5 million, while another liquidated 201,900 tokens valued at $8.93 million in just two hours.
A smaller wallet sold 67,006 tokens for $3.82 million, while trader 0xa523 miscalculated badly, losing more than $40 million in a single month. Influential trader James Wynn has now opened a short position on HYPE at $45.25, predicting “lower, much lower” prices as Aster gains momentum and the November unlock approaches.
Aster DEX has already overtaken Hyperliquid in seven-day trading volume, generating more than $25 million in daily fees by September 30. Features like hidden orders and a PvE trading model have drawn users looking for alternatives, and reports suggest former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao may personally hold over $100 million in Aster tokens. According to data from CoinMarketCap, HYPE is currently trading around $43.77. This is down 5.74% in the last 24 hours. The token has dropped 7.49% in the past week.