Hyperliquid’s HYPE token, one of the best-performing crypto assets this year, fell after its all-time high as long-time bull Arthur Hayes revealed he sold his entire position just days after predicting much higher prices.
“I just abandoned my entire HYPE and NEAR position,” Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX and chief investment officer of family office Maelstrom, wrote on X.
The sell-off brought HYPE back to $67 from a record high near $75, although the token remains up more than 70% since mid-May.
Hayes said the move reflected growing caution toward broader markets rather than a change in his view of hyperliquid. He pointed to rising energy prices linked to the Iran conflict, several high-profile AI IPOs expected in the coming months and his belief that financial markets could peak by September.
“It’s time to profit,” he wrote.
This abrupt exit caused backlash in crypto circles, as Hayes was one of Hyperliquid’s most vocal supporters. Days earlier, he reiterated a $150 price target for HYPE and, in a March essay, laid out a roadmap for how the token could reach that level.
Arthur Cheong, founder of crypto investment firm DeFiance Capital, described the move as “the epitome of a guy overtrading his position” in an X article.
Others wonder why investors continue to view Hayes’ market calls as actionable signals.
Crypto trader TraderSZ, who has over 683,000 followers on X, noted that Hayes had recently claimed that HYPE could be among the best performing assets of the year before announcing the sale.
One of the biggest winners in crypto
Hyperliquid and its token, HYPE, have performed remarkably well in recent weeks as the broader crypto market remained under pressure.
While bitcoin has fallen back near its 2026 low of $60,000, HYPE has reached new all-time highs and remains up 166% year-to-date, even with Thursday’s drop.
The project operates a blockchain-based perpetual futures exchange, allowing users to trade cryptocurrencies and other assets through a transparent order book rather than relying on a centralized venue.
The platform quickly gained market share, clearing around $40 billion in weekly trading volume and $1 billion in spot assets, and became one of the closely watched venues for weekend commodity prices and pre-IPO stocks.
The HYPE rally overheated
But the 100% gain in one month put the move beyond the project’s fundamentals, noted Markus Thielen, founder of 10x Research.
In a report released earlier this week, Thieled said Hyperliquid remains “one of the most impressive companies in crypto,” citing its roughly 77% gross margins, fully on-chain trading infrastructure, and token buyback program funded by protocol revenue.
According to Thielen, at recent highs near $75, HYPE trades at around 25 times projected fee revenue, close to the highest levels seen over the past year. Meanwhile, the protocol’s revenue remains well below its peak, and a major token unlock scheduled for June could introduce additional selling pressure.
“We have been loud HYPE bulls,” Thielen wrote. “But at current prices, the risk-reward ratio has changed.”
The long-term bullish case remains compelling, he said. If commercial activity returns to previous highs and new products attract more users, HYPE could eventually justify significantly higher prices.
