Hyperliquid is bracing for one of its biggest token-economy stress tests yet, with a major $314 million unlock set for Saturday and growing calls for clearer communication from the project’s core contributors.
Data from Tokenomist indicates that 9.92 million HYPE tokens equal to 2.66% of the total supply will be released in a single cliff unlock. At current prices, the tranche is valued at roughly $314 million. HYPE is trading near $31, down 23% over the past month.
Concerns intensified after an open letter posted on X by a community member named Andy urged Hyperliquid’s team to publicly clarify how the newly unlocked tokens will be handled. He warned that silence could amplify anxiety in a market still scarred by heavy sell-offs from past unlock events involving venture-backed projects.
Hayes: Unlock means “inevitable” sell pressure
BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes added fuel to the debate, saying the token unlock introduces unavoidable daily sell pressure regardless of internal assurances.
Even if the team pinky swears to not sell, there is nothing holding them to that, Hayes wrote, arguing that traders must price in at least some level of ongoing distribution risk.
He noted that Hyperliquid’s price-to-FDV ratio has fallen sharply since July, suggesting the market has already begun to discount the expected increase in circulating supply unless platform revenue continues to outgrow token dilution.
Mixed reaction from the community
While some users echo the call for better communication, others argue that Hyperliquid has already met its disclosure obligations by publishing the allocation and unlock date. One commenter said the team is under no obligation to pre-announce how they will handle their tokens.
Another criticized the open-letter push entirely, calling it “borrowed conviction” and asserting that Hyperliquid’s contributors have “earned” their allocations.
Perp DEX activity stays strong
Despite the broader market pullback, perpetuals DEX activity remained steady in November. DefiLlama data shows consistent daily volumes between $28 billion and $60 billion.
Across the four leading platforms Lighter, Aster, Hyperliquid and edgeX more than $1 trillion in total trading volume was recorded over the past 30 days. Lighter led with roughly $300 billion, followed by Aster with $289 billion. Hyperliquid ranked third at $259 billion, and edgeX posted $177 billion over the same period.