Key Takeaways
A single crypto wallet acquired 71,832 Hyperliquid (HYPE) tokens for $3.02 million on May 12, even as the token’s price declined 1.3% to $41.31, according to on-chain data. The purchase occurred as HYPE tests a key technical support level, creating a divergence between whale accumulation and bearish derivatives market positioning.
The large buy was identified by crypto transaction tracker Onchain Lens, which noted the 71,832 HYPE tokens were purchased at an average price of $42. While this single address showed conviction, data from the analytics platform Nansen indicated that the top 100 HYPE-holding addresses collectively reduced their positions by 17.57% over the past 24 hours, suggesting broader selling pressure.
This divergence is also visible in the derivatives market. The Funding Rate for HYPE perpetual futures has fallen to -0.0065%, according to data from CoinGlass, indicating a strong bearish bias among traders. Liquidation data shows significant short-leveraged positions totaling $7.68 million built at the $42.67 level, compared to $5.10 million in long positions at the $40.47 level.
The price of HYPE is now approaching a critical horizontal support level at $39.40 on its daily chart, a floor that has remained intact since April 10, 2026. A successful hold above this level could signal a continuation of the broader bullish trend that began after the token bottomed at $20.90 in January. However, a break below $39.40 could shift the trend bearish, with the next significant support located near $36. The Average Directional Index (ADX), a measure of trend strength, is at a low 15.26, indicating weakening momentum.
The whale's move comes as Hyperliquid gains access to traditional financial rails. On May 11, Ondo Finance announced that its tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs, such as tokenized versions of the SPY and QQQ, can now be bridged to Hyperliquid’s HyperEVM. This allows traders to use real-world assets as collateral for perpetual futures.
Further institutional interest was highlighted by the launch of the 21Shares Hyperliquid ETF (THYP) on May 12, the first such product in the U.S. The ETF recorded $1.8 million in trading volume and $1.2 million in net inflows on its first day, a figure Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart called a "very, very solid" debut. Competing HYPE-based ETFs from Bitwise and Grayscale are also in development.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
