HYPE Shock: $12B Unlock, Hayes’ Ferrari, and the Selloff Saga

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Hyperliquid (HYPE) is basically auditioning for a starring role in a disaster movie, and the studio wants the budget cut to the bone. The looming $12B unlock has it under heavy selling pressure, trading at $43.37 and dropping more than 12% in the last 24 hours, plus a 20.8% tumble this week. Mood: panic, but make it fashion. 😂💸

The November 29 unlock will unleash team tokens representing 23.8% of the total supply over 24 months, with analysts warning of about $500 million in monthly selling pressure. Yes, that’s a lot of receipts and a lot of receipts looking for refunds.

Research group Maelstrom calls this a “Sword of Damocles” moment, noting only 17% of the supply may be absorbed by buybacks. Dramatic? Absolutely. Also, totally plausible in crypto-verse, where every silver lining is wrapped in a thundercloud and glitter. ⚔️🗡️

Whales are feeling the heat too: one investor pulled out $122 million worth of HYPE while still holding onto $90 million in unrealized profits. It’s like deleting the cookies after you’ve eaten the entire bakery-only with more math and less pastry. 🍪🚫💰

Arthur Hayes’ Ferrari Sale Sparks Hyperliquid (HYPE) Selloff

In true plot-twist fashion, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes just exited his entire HYPE position-dropping over 96,000 tokens for about $4.8 million. He said on social that the sale was to cover a deposit for his new Ferrari 849 Testarossa, pulling in roughly $823,000 in profit. If only my car payment came with a side of glory like that. 🚗💸

The move stunned the market, especially since Hayes had predicted a 126x surge in HYPE at WebX 2025 just weeks earlier. His abrupt selloff, plus the looming unlock, has investors questioning Hyperliquid’s long-term trajectory-and maybe checking their calendars for November like it’s a cliffhanger episode. 😲

Tokenomics Reform Proposal: Can It Restore Trust?

To calm the storm, DBA Asset Management’s Jon Charbonneau and researcher Hasu have proposed a full-on tokenomics reboot for HYPE. The plan suggests:

  • Burning 45% of HYPE’s supply, including unminted tokens allocated for emissions and assistance funds.
  • Eliminating Hyperliquid’s fixed 1 billion supply cap, aligning with flexible issuance models like Ethereum and Solana.

Supporters argue this could remove distortions in fully diluted valuation (FDV) metrics and give a fairer read on Hyperliquid’s fundamentals. Critics warn that cutting emissions could slow growth incentives and reduce flexibility for future challenges. It’s crypto balancing-act theater, folks.

Despite the current price struggles, Hyperliquid remains one of the fastest-growing decentralized derivatives exchanges, recently hitting $3.4 billion in daily trading volumes. Will the reforms stabilize HYPE before November’s unlock? That’s the cliffhanger we’re all watching with popcorn ready. 🍿🚀

Cover image from ChatGPT, HYPEUSD chart from Tradingview

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2025-09-25 06:19