Why Hyperliquid’s Token Slid 15% This Week After a Sudden $18M Whale Exit
HYPE, Hyperliquid’s native token, is seeing a sharp correction in this week’s trade, hovering near $62 in the session on June 5, 2026...
Quick overview
- HYPE, Hyperliquid's native token, has experienced a significant price correction, dropping over 15% from its peak this week due to high-profile selling and a broader market downturn.
- Arthur Hayes, former co-founder of BitMEX, sold all his holdings of 247,000 HYPE tokens, citing geopolitical concerns and market conditions as key reasons for his decision.
- Despite the recent price decline, Hyperliquid's platform fundamentals remain strong, with robust trading volumes and a competitive edge in the decentralized derivatives market.
- The future trajectory of HYPE will depend on macroeconomic factors, Bitcoin ETF stability, and the platform's ongoing performance metrics.
HYPE, Hyperliquid’s native token, is seeing a sharp correction in this week’s trade, hovering near $62 in the session on June 5, 2026, after touching just under $75 a few days earlier. HYPE was down over 6% in this session, and down more than 15% from this week’s peak. The sell-off reflects high-profile selling by some whale investors as well as a broader risk-off move in the crypto market.
Key Drivers of the Recent Decline
The main catalyst for this sell-off seems to be Arthur Hayes, former co-founder of crypto futures exchange BitMEX, who sold all his holdings of 247,000 HYPE tokens on Tuesday, worth some $18 million at the time of selling. Hayes, a longtime Bitcoin proponent, explained the decision citing geopolitical concerns, higher energy costs and his belief that the market is near a short-term peak.
The sale coincided with a sharp drop in Bitcoin, from about $73,000 to under $67,000 in the past few days. The drop led to some $190 billion worth of value in the total crypto market cap evaporating. As a high-beta coin, HYPE has been particularly affected by this selling pressure.
Platform Fundamentals Remain Robust
Despite this price action, Hyperliquid as a business remains very strong, and continues to be among the leading decentralized perpetuals platforms by trading volume, regularly clocking in some $9 to $10 billion in 24-h volume. The platform’s custom-built Layer 1 blockchain enables a high-throughput, low-latency fully on-chain order book that serves as the backbone of the platform, attracting both individual traders as well as institutions looking for crypto-native decentralized derivatives offerings.
In a highly competitive DeFi market, the platform has maintained robust user retention and market share through zero to very low fees, strong capital efficiency and deep liquidity.
In terms of where HYPE and Hyperliquid go next, it seems like this move is mostly technical and sentiment-related rather than indicative of any weakening of fundamentals of Hyperliquid as a business. Things to keep an eye on over the coming days are:
- If the prolonged and deep outflows in Bitcoin ETFs can stabilize. Bitcoin ETFs remain a key driver of sentiment in broader altcoin market.
- Hyperliquid’s volume, TVL and other features of the platform.
- Macroeconomics: upcoming US economic data and Fed commentary, in particular from Chair Kevin Warsh.
HYPEUSDT 4H Chart: Bullish Continuation Inside Wide Ascending Blue Channel
In the HYPEUSDT 4h timeframe, $62.41 maintains a strong bullish structure trading in the midst of a wide ascending blue channel of higher highs and higher lows. The price is currently retesting from the high of $75.49 back down towards the middle of the blue channel in the direction of the red dynamic resistance level, but continues to stay above the support level confluence level.
The impulse shows that buyers are in control with a very minimal red overlap, and green body of candles that are larger than red, after breaking above the previous resistance levels and confluence level.

The price is looking to push higher towards $67.78-$71.71 and then towards the high of the blue channel at $75.49 with a bullish continuation. The RSI 14 reading at 45.33 is at the lower end with room for growth and no bearish divergence, and is not yet overbought. A green trend that is accompanied by an increase in volume shows accumulation rather than distribution.
The current market structure is very clean with sustained bullish control in the blue channel and confluence levels in the support, which indicates that the price is still trending in the bullish direction, and is still in support of the bullish trade above $62.41 as long as the price remains above $60.07 at the low of the blue channel and confluence. Trade $62.41, long $64.08 below $60.07 and take at $71.71 for a price move higher in the channel of the blue.
Summing Up
In closing, the Hyperliquid’s HYPE token has given back some of its price gains from earlier in the week in light of high-profile selling and a broader market correction. But the platform’s leadership position in crypto-native perpetuals, consistently robust trading volumes, and its technical edge are all key factors that will be important to keep an eye on.
While HYPE as a token may be exposed to significant volatility in this environment because it’s a high-beta token, real utility and high market share in decentralized derivatives will be important in the long-term for Hyperliquid to continue to see significant growth in the space. How the sell-off plays out in the coming sessions will be important to watch as macroeconomic factors will drive further correction.
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