Hyperliquid (HYPE), the native token of a decentralized perpetual-futures exchange that runs on its own Layer 1 blockchain, fell below $60 after two major crypto investment firms unstaked about $291 million worth of the token over several days, raising questions among traders about whether the unlocked tokens could be sold.

Unstaking makes previously locked tokens available for transfer or sale. Staked tokens typically earn yield or help secure a network while reducing circulating supply, which is why large unstaking events frequently draw market attention as potential indicators of sell pressure. Multicoin Capital said its unstaking was not intended for selling, while on-chain analysis cited in the report indicated that the tokens were moved into custody rather than directly onto the market.

HYPE Trades Below $60 After Large Unstaking Requests

Hyperliquid is among the busiest crypto trading platforms, and HYPE is now ranked as a top-10 token. The token was trading at $58, down about 2% on the day and roughly 24% below its June record high of $76.70.

Multicoin unstaked close to 2 million HYPE, valued at about $120 million. On-chain monitoring by MLM showed that Paradigm unstaked a larger amount: 2.92 million HYPE, worth around $171 million. Paradigm has not commented.

Combined, the unstaked amount totaled about $291 million, equivalent to roughly 85% of HYPE’s daily trading volume. Lookonchain first identified the Multicoin transfers, noting that some tokens were sent to Coinbase Prime, an institution-grade custody service distinct from exchange trading accounts.

Multicoin Capital appears to be taking profits on 606,091 $HYPE ($36.5M) bought around $30 5 months ago. 6 hours ago, Multicoin Capital deposited 395,570 $HYPE ($23.78M) into #CoinbasePrime and also requested to unstake 211,486 $HYPE ($12.94M). Multicoin Capital's profit on $HYPE … pic.twitter.com/iMAbLhMZQr — Lookonchain (@lookonchain) July 22, 2026

Multicoin Says the HYPE Unstaking Was Not a Sale

Multicoin cofounder Tushar Jain quickly disputed claims that the fund was preparing to sell. He said the firm had unstaked HYPE, but not for liquidation.

“Yesterday we unstaked a large slug of HYPE. We did not unstake to sell… Our funds are constantly tracked, forcing regular wallet rotations. Institutions need privacy to operate”

Large funds are continuously monitored on-chain, making wallet activity highly visible. Jain argued that institutions rotate wallets to preserve operational privacy. He made a similar point in an earlier interview, and his firm has previously published a bullish HYPE forecast for 2028.

A few weeks back, @Multicoin 's cofounder @tushar_jain told us privacy wasn't optional for institutions moving onchain. This week's HYPE unstake proved it: "It's ridiculous to think institutions will move RWAs onchain and broadcast all their activity in real time." "So you need… pic.twitter.com/XnpkLFxJ4M — The Rollup (@therollupco) July 23, 2026

The visibility of these movements is linked to Hyperliquid’s distribution history. Hyperliquid did not take venture capital funding and distributed HYPE through a 2024 airdrop. As a result, large holders bought tokens on the open market, and the wallets they use can be tracked publicly. This contrasts with many crypto projects where venture investors receive allocated token tranches at launch, making Hyperliquid’s publicly traceable whale wallets a distinguishing feature of its market structure.

On-chain account Markets Alpha reviewed the wallets and said its analysis identified four linked wallets. According to that analysis, the unstaked HYPE was moved into custody rather than sent to the market for sale.

Did Multicoin Capital ( @multicoin ) just start selling HYPE? Yesterday, Multicoin requested to unstake almost 2M HYPE ($120M) and deposited 530k HYPE ($31.8M) into Coinbase. HYPE immediately dropped more than 3%, and several accounts claimed that Multicoin had sold those tokens… pic.twitter.com/eHkw71jc1p — Markets Alpha (@MarketsAlpha) July 22, 2026

One group also sent about 1 million HYPE to Grayscale. That transfer helped fill Grayscale’s new Hyperliquid ETF, HYPG, which began trading on Nasdaq in June. The listing reflected a broader expansion of crypto-linked exchange-traded products that has opened additional institutional channels into tokens like HYPE.

Some Traders Point to Hyperliquid Usage Metrics

Not all market participants viewed the unstaking as a problem. Trader Elon Trades said Hyperliquid’s usage figures had barely changed, citing its growing derivatives market share and steady revenue.

Multicoin unstaking a ton of $HYPE is one thing, but the actual usage numbers on @Hyperliquid haven’t really budged. Good thing they said it wasn’t a sale, which I take at face value for now because unstaking created some FUD. That said, when I checked the numbers its still in… — ElonTrades (@ElonTrades) July 23, 2026

Additional tokens could become transferable soon. According to Hyperliquid documentation, unstaking takes about seven days, and most of the tokens are expected to unlock near the end of July.

The funds could restake, hold, or sell the tokens after the unstaking period ends. For now, the large HYPE unstaking remains a focus for traders monitoring whether the token can move back above $60.