HYPE price pressured as whales set up for exit

Hyperliquid’s native token HYPE is now off its all-time highs. Whale transactions suggest the token may face additional price pressure. 

Hyperliquid’s native token HYPE may face selling pressure as whales reverse their positions. HYPE traded off the week’s peak of $58.85, sliding to $53.22. Traders are becoming more cautious, as HYPE open interest inched down from over $2B to $1.9B. 

In the past day, the token saw $1.75M in long liquidations, as traders decided to sunset the latest rally to a new all-time peak. HYPE successfully broke the $55 barrier, but the token may face setbacks as the altcoin market consolidates. 

HYPE whale shifts to short positions

A well-known high-profile whale with a bearish HYPE strategy is back in the game. The whale opened another $16M leveraged short position on Hype. Previously, the whale made up to $50M from shorting HYPE. This time, the position immediately shifted to an unrealized loss of above $348K. 

For HYPE, shorting is the unpopular position, with a 42% share of all trades. Despite being unpopular, HYPE long positions are also saddled with growing fees. One of the whales is facing over $309K in fees for extending the position. 

Additionally, one of the top leaderboard traders opened a smaller risky short position on HYPE, with a smaller risk of liquidation. 

Staking whale removes HYPE share

The ongoing price climb of HYPE comes from its high percentage of staked tokens. Over 430M HYPE are staked based on airdrop incentives. 

On-chain data shows one whale held HYPE for nine months, unstaking 2M tokens in the past week. 

A whale who bought and staked 2M $HYPE(cost $17.4M, now worth $107.2M) 9 months ago at $8.68 avg has now unstaked it and is very likely to sell for profits!

9 months ago, this whale deposited 17.4M $USDC into #Hyperliquid through 3 wallets and bought 2M $HYPE at $8.68 avg, then… pic.twitter.com/1DTkfWSqrQ

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) September 16, 2025

The tokens may be sold soon, extending the price pressure on HYPE. While the platform encourages long-term holding, and HYPE has seen predictions of triple-digit prices, whales still take profits on altcoins, as seasons and rallies are usually short-lived. This whale may make around $89.8M in net gains. 

Currently, HYPE is still being evaluated for the effect of Native Markets, the winner of the USDH ticker. Holding the token in staking may still be key to new incentives and airdrops for more ecosystem tokens. 

Predictions for HYPE range between bearish, seeing the token slide to under $50 in the short term, and as low as $18 in a deeper drawdown. Crypto trader @cobie predicts a hike to $150 or even $200, though with an unknown timeline. Based on the recent whale leveraged positions, short traders are betting on a big downward move.