HYPE falls below $60 as Paradigm and Multicoin unstake $291 million

Two of the largest venture capitalists for cryptocurrencies have unstaked Hyperliquid’s HYPE token, worth around $291 million, within a couple of days of each other, causing the price for HYPE to drop below $60 as traders look at a new wave of selling.

According to on-chain tracker Onchain Lens, the bigger shift happened when Paradigm unstaked 2.92 million HYPE tokens worth around $170 million on July 24 after being staked for about eight months.

An entity unstaked $170M worth of $HYPE

Two wallets belonging to the same entity unstaked 2.92M $HYPE (~$170.1M) after being staked for 8 months.

Both wallets now hold 0 $HYPE in the staking contract.

Addresses:
0xcef1c075dbfe6b2d774c74a8b94e8350e9b42c25… pic.twitter.com/e88Ayw44lT

— Onchain Lens (@OnchainLens) July 23, 2026

Two days before that, Multicoin Capital unstaked another 1.96 million HYPE valued at approximately $120 million. As HYPE only recently made its way to the top 10 cryptos, the two back-to-back moves from the best-known investors stood out.

Why $291 million matters against a thin order book

As mentioned by BeInCrypto, the total amount of unstaked tokens accounts for approximately 85% of the daily trading volume of HYPE. That number is worrisome to traders, as although unstaking in itself does not guarantee a sale, it does free the tokens from the lockup that keeps them out of trading. Even in a market that is not too busy, part of that unstaked supply making it to the exchanges would have its impact on the price.

This kind of concern was seen in the trading market too. CoinMarketCap had noted that HYPE was being traded in the range of $57 to $59, down by nearly 25% from its all-time high of $76.70 reached in June.

When tokens are unstaked in Hyperliquid, there is a period of about seven days during which tokens cannot be transferred. Consequently, the amount of HYPE that was unstaked earlier in July will only become liquid by the end of July, and thereafter, the developments in the market will be closely observed.

Multicoin says it rotated wallets, not sold

Upon hearing rumors that Multicoin might be looking to sell, Tushar Jain, co-founder of Multicoin, was quick to respond by saying: “We did not unstake to sell.” Jain also pointed out that it is not uncommon for institutional investors to transfer their cryptocurrencies between wallets as positions on the blockchain are comparatively transparent and privacy is still valued.

His remarks fall in line with Multicoin’s larger investment philosophy. As previously reported by Cryptopolitan, the investment company thinks that the HYPE price might reach about $319 by 2028, contending that Hyperliquid is capable of transforming from a decentralized perpetuals exchange to a wider financial platform. This long-term perspective makes the decision to unstake seem more like portfolio management than a sign of potential exit.

Many experts in the field of blockchain have expressed similar views. According to an analysis conducted by Markets Alpha where four wallets were investigated, it was found out that tokens had simply been taken into safekeeping and not transacted in the markets. Lookonchain has also noticed that some of the tokens of Multicoin were transferred via Coinbase Prime.

Approximately 1 million HYPE was also sent to Grayscale to help initiate its Hyperliquid ETF, HYPG, which started trading on Nasdaq in June.

Paradigm, which blockchain researcher Louis.hl indicates as the biggest HYPE holder with about 19 million tokens, has not made a statement regarding the recent unstaking. Louis.hl has also observed that the company previously unstaked 2.14 million HYPE in April.

What the price still has to prove

Not everyone considers the recent unstaking operations a bearish sign.

Market analyst Elon Trades claims that Hyperliquid’s basic parameters are still strong, as the platform keeps gaining ground in the decentralized derivatives market and generating consistent revenue. He also mentioned that he agrees with Jain’s comment that Multicoin had no intentions of selling.

The platform’s fundamentals continue to be strong. In June, Multicoin reported that Hyperliquid generated nearly $873 million in revenue on approximately $2.9 trillion in trading volume in 2025. Moreover, it occupied over 59% of the total open interest across DeFi perpetual futures markets.

Even so, robust business results do not eliminate near-term uncertainty. Investors are currently looking to see what Paradigm, Multicoin, and other key owners will do with their liquidated tokens once they have them available. Possible options include restaking, keeping the tokens, or selling them to another party.

At the moment, that doubt remains present in the market. HYPE has to get back to the $60 level in order to change short-term sentiment. There will be another token unlocking for core team members on August 6, bringing more potential supply in the market which is currently processing the last wave of unstaked tokens.

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