Hyperliquid whale holds $103M HYPE short despite $22M loss

A wallet labeled 0x8ef on Hyperliquid holds a 5x cross-margin short on 1.80 million HYPE, valued at about $102.98 million. The position opened near an entry price of $44.96 and shows roughly $22.18 million in unrealized losses as HYPE trades near $57.30.

On-chain data show the account received about $204,522 in funding payments. The short exposure was around $95 million earlier in the day and later increased to roughly $103 million. If HYPE rises to about $69, the position would face liquidation.

HYPE has risen about 134% year-to-date while the broader crypto market has fallen about 16% in 2026. U.S. spot HYPE exchange-traded funds began trading on May 12 and have recorded about $58.73 million in net inflows since launch.

A wallet linked to Galaxy Digital bought 158,100 HYPE, valued near $8.8 million, over two hours. Another new wallet withdrew 536,247 HYPE, worth about $29.87 million, from Coinbase over two days. Combined, those moves total about 694,500 HYPE, roughly $38.67 million, moved off exchanges or into private holdings.

Liquidation data for a 24-hour rolling window show approximately $36.33 million in total liquidations, with shorts accounting for about $34.29 million and longs about $2.03 million. The short liquidations occurred alongside recent price gains.

Technical indicators show HYPE testing the upper edge of an ascending price channel near $59–$60, the same area as its September 2025 high. The daily relative strength index is around 77, putting the token in overbought territory by standard measures. A pullback could reach the 0.786–0.618 Fibonacci retracement band near $51.5–$45.

If HYPE falls into that range, the short position would recover an estimated $10.4 million to $22.1 million of the current unrealized loss, though the trade becomes profitable only if the price drops below the $44.96 entry, not counting funding and fees. The position’s cross-margin setup allows losses on the HYPE short to draw on other account holdings.

Traders and on-chain observers will watch HYPE flows on and off exchanges, ETF inflows and short-interest metrics to track potential further forced selling or corrective price movement.