Hyperliquid drops 4% as whales take $5 million profit

Key takeaways

• Hyperliquid (HYPE) fell 4% to approximately $78 on Friday, continuing its recent price retreat.
• Hyperliquid Strategies (PURR) has filed for futures commission merchant (FCM) registration to bring regulated perpetual futures trading to U.S. clients.
• Analytics firm Santiment reported that four large whale wallets locked in a combined $5 million in profit after unwinding their HYPE positions.

Hyperliquid (HYPE) dropped 4% on Friday, trading around $78 as profit-taking by major token holders dragged down prices despite positive developments regarding the protocol’s potential expansion into U.S. derivatives markets.

The price decline comes after a rally that briefly carried HYPE toward $97 before selling pressure returned.

Blockchain analytics platform Santiment noted that four large whale addresses locked in roughly $5 million in total gains after closing out their holdings, raising questions about the sustainability of the recent recovery.

Hyperliquid Strategies seeks CFTC approval for US perpetual futures

Hyperliquid Strategies announced its FCM application alongside its third-quarter financial results on Thursday.

The firm aims to launch a regulated intermediary authorized to hold U.S. customer accounts for permissioned derivatives markets deployed on top of Hyperliquid’s blockchain architecture.

Pending the necessary regulatory greenlights, the proposed setup would function within the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) framework.

Under the planned framework, third-party operators could establish and manage permissioned markets using Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 standard.

These independent operators would oversee regulatory compliance, while the underlying blockchain network would remain a neutral infrastructure layer.

If approved by regulators, the FCM registration would enable Hyperliquid Strategies to help offer perpetual futures products to U.S. traders.

Despite these regulatory advances, Hyperliquid’s native token has struggled to preserve its recent momentum.

Santiment reported Thursday that four large whale accounts closed out their HYPE long positions, taking roughly $5 million in realized profits.

These sales followed a strong rally that drove HYPE close to $97. Citing data from Score Arena, Santiment highlighted one address that had accumulated HYPE since late May before selling its entire position of approximately 310,000 tokens.

The wallet executed automated sell orders of roughly $225,000 worth of HYPE at five-minute intervals as the price fluctuated between $94 and $95.

This systematically executed exit generated around $2.4 million in realized profits, according to the data.

Two other whale wallets similarly exited their positions after the surge. One address secured about $987,000 in profit from 98,000 HYPE, while another realized nearly $1 million from approximately 140,000 tokens.

Hyperliquid technical analysis: HYPE struggles below key moving averages

Hyperliquid’s daily chart indicates renewed selling pressure following the rejection from its recent highs.

Trading near $77, HYPE sits beneath its short- and medium-term Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs), signaling that sellers remain in control of the near-term trend.

The token also failed to hold a breakout above a descending resistance trendline, adding to doubts about the strength of the previous upswing.

Technical indicators reflect the bearish bias. The daily Relative Strength Index (RSI) stands around 42, holding beneath the neutral 50 level.

Concurrently, the Stochastic oscillator has slipped toward 23, nearing oversold conditions.

Immediate support for Hyperliquid is located at $75.69, a horizontal level situated just below Friday’s market price.

A decisive drop below this area could trigger additional selling, exposing the next support level at $67.63. If bearish momentum accelerates, the token could extend its correction down toward $61.16.

To the upside, immediate resistance lies at the 100-day EMA near $78.10. Reclaiming this indicator would serve as an early signal of diminishing sell pressure.

However, buyers would still face a more formidable resistance barrier formed by the 20-day and 50-day EMAs between $82.33 and $82.51.

A sustained push above these technical hurdles could pave the way for a run toward horizontal resistance at $85.04.

If bullish momentum expands significantly beyond that level, the recent peak around $97.84 would act as the next key upside objective.