Hyperliquid (HYPE) Drops 5% - Could Whales Trigger an Even Bigger Sell-Off?

Unlike leading cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Ripple (XRP), HYPE — the native token of the popular decentralized exchange — has had quite a successful year, rallying by over 100% during that period.

Earlier this month, it hit a new all-time high of almost $100, but bears stepped in, and the asset is now worth roughly $90 (per CoinGecko). Meanwhile, recent whale activity suggests a further correction may be on the way.

Dumping HYPE

According to analytics platform Lookonchain, some large investors have started offloading their HYPE bags. One of those, known as 0xc745, deposited over $16 million worth of the cryptocurrency into OKX and Bybit. It is not guaranteed that this market participant has sold their position, yet such transfers are often interpreted as the step before that action.

Lookonchain also revealed that a wallet linked to Hypersphere Ventures dumped 62,869 HYPE (worth roughly $5.78 million) that were purchased a month ago, making a $2.13 million profit. Earlier this month, another whale deposited nearly $50 million in the cryptocurrency to Kraken.

For its part, X account BSCN recently disclosed that Multicoin has sent 4.23 million HYPE worth almost $300 million to Coinbase since the end of July.

“Presumably, the transfers were made with the intention of selling, though that is not confirmed,” the team explained.

This activity is widely seen as bearish for the price for two main reasons. First, offloading increases the amount of HYPE coins available on the market, which, combined with non-increasing demand, should lead to a price pullback.

Second, whales are regarded as experienced investors who rarely rely on instinct and instead make decisions based on information most market participants may not have. That said, their mass selling could spark panic across the space and prompt smaller players to cash out too.

X user Sjuul | AltCryptoGems noted HYPE’s pullback from its all-time high, hinting that a further plunge into the mid-70s is a plausible scenario. At the same time, he views that as “a good opportunity to hunt for longs,” arguing that the asset remains one of the strongest coins and a “must-have” in any crypto portfolio.

The Bullish Element

Contrary to the whales’ activity, recent HYPE exchange netflow suggests the price may be gearing up for another leg up.

Over the past several days, outflows have significantly outpaced inflows, meaning that investors have abandoned centralized platforms in favor of self-custody solutions. This, in turn, reduces immediate selling pressure and might pave the way for future upside.