Hyperliquid's $314M Token Unlock Sparks Demand for Transparency and Sell Pressure Alerts

A scheduled unlock of $314 million worth of Hyperliquid tokens this Saturday has drawn significant attention to the decentralized exchange (DEX), with a community member urging clearer communication regarding the release of these tokens.

Key Takeaways

Hyperliquid will unlock 9.92 million HYPE tokens on Saturday, representing about 2.66% of the total supply.
The unlock, worth approximately $314 million, will happen all at once due to a "cliff unlock" structure.
Some community members have raised concerns about potential sell pressure following the unlock, while others believe the team doesn't need to disclose their plans for the tokens.
Despite market challenges, perpetual DEXs have maintained stable trading volumes.

Hyperliquid’s $314M unlock fuels calls for clarity, sell-pressure warnings

Understanding the Token Unlock

On Saturday, Hyperliquid plans to release 9.92 million of its HYPE tokens, encompassing 2.66% of the total supply. Valued at around $314 million, this release will take place under a "cliff unlock," meaning the tokens will be made available all at once.

This impending unlock has sparked discussions among token holders, notably after a call from a user named Andy on X for the team to communicate clearly with the community prior to the unlock. Currently, HYPE trades at $31, reflecting a 23% decline over the last month. Andy stated, “The team and airdrop recipients finally able to sell is going to ruffle feathers until you address the community head on,” expressing concern that the market still remembers past issues associated with similar situations.

Hyperliquid leads the weekly unlock list with $314 million scheduled for Saturday. Source: Tokenomist

Insights from Industry Leaders

Arthur Hayes, the co-founder of BitMEX, has issued a strong warning about the potential sell pressure resulting from this unlock. He emphasized that any promises from insiders to refrain from selling cannot eliminate uncertainty surrounding the situation. Hayes noted that, “Even if the team pinky swears to not sell, there is nothing holding them to that. So you have to assume a >0% amount of daily sell pressure.” He also cited a notable drop in Hyperliquid’s price-to-fully diluted valuation (FDV) ratio since July as a sign that traders are already factoring in the anticipated risk of token dilution unless revenue growth exceeds the increase in supply.

Source: Arthur Hayes

While some members of the Hyperliquid community are advocating for greater transparency from the team, others argue that there is no obligation to disclose plans regarding token distribution. One user mentioned that simply revealing the amount and timing of the tokens was adequate, allowing the team to decide their allocation internally. Another community member dismissed the call for transparency as “desperation” and suggested that Hyperliquid's team has rightfully earned their tokens.

Ongoing Performance of Perpetual DEXs

In spite of a general downturn in the broader cryptocurrency market, perpetual DEXs have recorded stable daily trading volumes, ranging from $28 billion to $60 billion, according to data from DefiLlama.

In the past 30 days, the leading four perpetual DEXs—Lighter, Aster, Hyperliquid, and edgeX—collectively generated over $1 trillion in trading volume. Lighter dominated with $300 billion in transactions, closely followed by Aster with $289 billion.

Hyperliquid’s trading volume in November. Source: DefiLlama

Hyperliquid held the third position with a trading volume of $259 billion, while edgeX marked a total volume of $177 billion over the same period.

Related: Trader torches $3M to punch a $5M hole in Hyperliquid’s vault

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