Lookonchain analysts reported that an early investor in HYPE, the DEX launched by Hyperliquid, sold 4.99 million tokens for $228.76 million. The average transaction price was $45.82 per token. The transaction brought his profit to $148.63 million.
This investor acquired HYPE in January 2025, investing in 5.07 million tokens at $16.23 each. After the recent sale, his wallet now holds only 77,089 HYPE tokens, worth approximately $3.37 million.
According to CoinGecko, the token is trading at $44.60 at press time. Over the past 24 hours, the price has fallen by 5.2%, with a weekly decline of 6.3%. Despite the correction, the asset's market capitalization remains at $12 billion, with daily trading volume estimated at $558.5 million.
The situation with HYPE is attracting interest from experts. Earlier, ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood noted that the Hyperliquid project reminds her of the early stages of Solana's development. This comparison heightens attention to the ecosystem, which, despite price fluctuations, maintains significant liquidity and interest from institutional and private players.
This investor's profit-taking demonstrates how profitable early investments in new tokens can be if they manage to establish a foothold in the market. The sale of almost the entire stake indicates an exit strategy at the asset's peak, although some tokens were retained in the portfolio. This may indicate the investor's confidence in the project's future development or a desire to maintain a minimal presence in the Hyperliquid ecosystem.
Current trends show that interest in HYPE remains high, even with the price declining. Significant trading volume confirms active trader participation and the asset's market liquidity. At the same time, a market capitalization of $12 billion makes the token a prominent player among digital assets, maintaining the attention of both speculators and long-term investors.
Thus, the story of nearly $150 million in profit-taking underscores HYPE's significance as a shining example of successful token growth on decentralized platforms and demonstrates that the market is still capable of generating colossal returns for early participants.