$HYPE Team Just Moved $330M in Tokens. Should Holders Worry?
Hyperliquid’s HYPE is trading around $84 on Binance right now. That’s down about 3% in the last 24 hours and roughly 14% below its high of around $98 from Sept 23.
The big talking point this week: Hyperliquid Labs unstaked 3.75 million HYPE, worth around $330 million, as part of the team’s October allocation. That’s much bigger than previous monthly team distributions.
According to the co-founder, the whole block is covered by a private OTC deal with an institutional buyer, and the tokens aren’t meant to hit the open market. But the buyer, the price and any lockup haven’t been disclosed. On-chain trackers also saw part of the tokens go back into staking.
Why people still like HYPE: • Hyperliquid’s docs say 99% of trading fees go toward buying back HYPE, and those tokens are treated as burned. • It’s been one of the biggest perp exchanges, with nearly $240B in 30-day perp volume back in mid-September. • It got a Binance spot listing on Sept 24, which opened it up to a lot more traders.
What could go wrong: • We don’t know the OTC terms. If there’s no lockup, some of those tokens could still be sold later. • A big part of the total supply isn’t circulating yet, and team tokens keep vesting over time. • Buybacks aren’t a price floor. HYPE has drifted lower since the Binance listing, and the whole market is weak right now, with Bitcoin under $82K.
My take (not financial advice): A private OTC deal looks better than tokens being dumped on the market. But “it won’t be sold” isn’t the same as a disclosed lockup. I’d keep an eye on those wallets, and on whether fee revenue holds up in a weaker market.
Does a private OTC deal like this make you more or less comfortable with HYPE? 👇