Analyzing Hyperliquid’s $9.8 mln team wallet sale: Is HYPE’s $20 support at risk?

Amid a broader market downturn, Hyperliquid [HYPE] has faced strong downward pressure, reaching levels last seen in May 2025. 

Hyperliquid dropped to a low of $20.8 before slightly rebounding. At press time, HYPE traded at $21.02, down 9.21% on the daily charts, indicating strong bearish pressure.

9 wallets offload $9.8 million worth of HYPE

While HYPE has been declining, the recently distributed tokens have added further downside pressure, as they ended on the sell side.

Qwantifyio reported that nine team wallets had distributed their HYPE to Flowdesk. These Hyperliquid-linked wallets sold 450K HYPE, valued at $9.8 million.

In fact, out of the 1,125,766 HYPE distributed for January, 62.4% was sold via OTC while 33.14% was staked. After these transactions, the spot address was left holding only 50k HYPE worth approximately $1 million. 

This suggests that Hyperliquid has been selling most of the unstaked and unlocked coins. Based on the team’s previous behavior, they could likely sell future unlocks. 

The team’s approach has deepened bearish pressure by increasing circulating supply, especially amid bear dominance. 

Hyperliquid whales flip bearish

Unsurprisingly, with Hyperliquid on a prolonged downtrend, investors, especially whales, have turned bearish and are now shorting the market.

 According to Onchain Lens, a whale placed a short position for 928,898 HYPE worth $19.89 million. 

Typically, when whales decide to take short positions, it suggests they expect the downtrend to continue. However, this bearishness in Futures is not isolated to whales; most participants feel the same. 

According to CoinGlass data, Hyperliquid’s Derivatives Volume climbed 79.8% to $1.46 billion while Open Interest rose 1.17% to $1.2 billion. 

When OI and Volume rise in tandem, it signals increased participation with traders taking either short or long positions. 

In this case, these traders have been taking short positions since the altcoin’s Long Short Ratio held below 1. With this metric at 0.89, it suggests most participants were bearish and expected prices to drop further.

Is $20 support at risk for HYPE?

Hyperliquid dipped to an 8-month low amid increasing selling pressure, accelerating the downward momentum.

As a result, the altcoin’s MACD crossed below its signal line, dropping to a low of -1.1. A bearish move here suggested that sellers were in overwhelming control of the market.

At the same time, its Directional Movement Index (DMI) dropped to 13, further into the bearish zone, reflecting weaker structure.

These two bearish moves, combined, signal potential trend continuation. Thus, if selling pressure continues to dominate, HYPE risks breaching $20 support and dipping to $18.7.

Final Thoughts

• A Hyperliquid team-linked wallet dumped 450K HYPE, valued at $9.8 million. 
• Whales short the market as HYPE tests a key support level around $20.