I'll be direct: this one caught a lot of people off guard, including me.
Hyperliquid's HYPE token, one of crypto's best‑performing assets this year, tumbled following its record run as longtime bull Arthur Hayes revealed he had sold his entire position just days after predicting much higher prices.
The post that set off the reaction was simple and blunt. "I just dumped my entire HYPE and NEAR position," Hayes, co‑founder of BitMEX and chief investment officer at family office Maelstrom, wrote on X. That single sentence moved the market.
The selloff pulled HYPE back to $67 from record highs near $75, though the token remains up more than 70% since mid‑May.
Why Hayes Says He Sold
To his credit, Hayes didn't disappear after posting. He explained his reasoning, and it wasn't about losing faith in Hyperliquid as a project.
Hayes said the decision reflected growing caution about broader markets rather than a change in his view of Hyperliquid. He pointed to rising energy prices tied to the Iran conflict, several high‑profile AI IPOs expected in the coming months and his belief that financial markets could peak between now and September. "Time to take profit," he wrote.
That framing is important. He's not saying HYPE is overvalued relative to its fundamentals. He's saying the macro backdrop made him uncomfortable holding risk into what he sees as a potential market top. That's a legitimate risk management call, even if the timing and delivery left a lot to be desired.
The Backlash Was Swift and Loud
The problem isn't that Hayes sold. It's that he sold days after publicly calling for $150, a price he never came close to hitting before exiting.
The abrupt exit caused backlash in crypto circles because Hayes had been among Hyperliquid's most vocal supporters. Just 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.
The response from other prominent voices was sharp. Arthur Cheong, founder of crypto investment firm DeFiance Capital, described the move as "the epitome of a guy that over‑trades his position."
Crypto trader TraderSZ, who has more than 683,000 followers on X, noted that Hayes had recently argued HYPE could be among the year's best‑performing assets before announcing the sale.
People in crypto follow Hayes closely precisely because his calls have historically been worth paying attention to. When those calls flip this fast, the credibility cost is real.
HYPE Is Still One of Crypto's Biggest Winners
Let's not lose perspective on the token itself though. Despite the dump and the 10% pullback, HYPE remains an extraordinary performer.
As bitcoin fell back to near its 2026 lows at $60,000, HYPE notched fresh all‑time highs and remains up 166% year‑to‑date even with Thursday's decline. The platform has rapidly gained market share, clearing around $40 billion in weekly perp volume and $1 billion in spot assets.
Was the Rally Overheated?
Here's what I think is the most useful piece of analysis in this story, and it comes not from Hayes, but from Markus Thielen at 10x Research.
In a report earlier this week, Thielen said Hyperliquid remained "one of the most impressive businesses in crypto," citing its roughly 77% gross margins, fully onchain trading infrastructure and token buyback program. But at recent highs near $75, HYPE traded at roughly 25 times projected fee revenue, near the richest levels seen over the past year. Meanwhile, protocol revenue remains well below its peak, and a large token unlock scheduled for June could introduce additional selling pressure. "We have been vocal HYPE bulls," Thielen wrote. "But at current prices, the risk‑reward has shifted."
That's an honest read. Great business. Great token. But the short‑term valuation had stretched ahead of the fundamentals, and Hayes, whatever you think of his timing, wasn't wrong to recognise that.
The long‑term case for HYPE remains intact. But this week was a reminder that in crypto, even the biggest bulls eventually take money off the table.
