While the general cryptocurrency market has experienced a decline in certain altcoins, one asset appears to be drawing the substantial attention of major investors: $HYPE.
Even though the token is now down to the lower end of its range, cryptocurrency “whales”—individuals or entities that hold large amounts of crypto—are making some impressive moves. They’re depositing millions of dollars in USDC (a stablecoin that holds its value against the U.S. dollar) into Hyperliquid, a decentralized exchange, and using that capital to purchase $HYPE. These large and apparently well-coordinated buys have propelled Hyperliquid to its highest trading levels of 2023.
A Contradiction to the Market Trend
$HYPE has pulled in some unexpected whale interest during the recent broader market downturn in which many altcoins have seen substantial losses. The token’s price has been sliding to range-lows, which has typically been a signal for large investors to step in and buy. Yet, the apparent weakness in price has not dissuaded whales from making big moves. Over the past 24 hours, we’ve seen multiple addresses deposit significant amounts of USDC into Hyperliquid, an exchange that is known to offer some of the most diverse perpetual contracts with leverage in the market.
Current data indicates that Binance, one of the biggest crypto exchanges in the world, is still holding down the fort in the futures market with an 83.6% market share in perpetual contracts. But even with this overwhelming control, Hyperliquid has snagged 16.4% of the market share in the same category, which is no small feat given its size. The uptick in trading volume might actually be tied to heavy whale activity centered around $HYPE, as they seem bent on taking advantage of this token’s potential, market conditions be damned.
Massive Whale Deposits into Hyperliquid
In the past day, three well-known whale addresses have deposited considerable amounts of USDC to purchase $HYPE on Hyperliquid, allowing the DEX to have more $HYPE on its order book. An hour later, at around the same time, 0xC2F7…A08E made a similar move, also buying $HYPE with 5 million USDC. And almost a full 24 hours ago, 0x8c3F…A168 decided to join the fun and deposited 5 million USDC to buy $HYPE.
Further, another whale address, 0x8AD6…f23D, put in 2.07 million USDC in the past 24 hours to buy $HYPE. Following closely behind was another deposit of 1.35 million USDC from address 0x48F1…359c just 8 hours ago. These appear to be institutional investors or individuals with a lot of net worth placing big bets on $HYPE, seemingly anticipating that its ongoing price decline will reverse and that the token will see a spike in demand.
Hyperliquid’s Growth Amid Market Uncertainty
Hyperliquid’s tallies of trading volumes that are rapidly rising indicates that the platform is slowly gaining traction among—who else?—crypto traders, but especially among crypto whales. (By the way, if you are unfamiliar with this particular aquatic nomenclature, the term “crypto whales” refers to large investors with the capacity to massively influence the crypto markets.) Yet, as the liquidity problem that many DEXes face—the liquidity problem that Curve is attempting to solve—shows, the interest of DEXes among traders depends largely on their trading experience, which requires trust in the DEX ranging from “efficient,” “trustless,” and “low fees” to “decentralized,” “liquid,” and “more control over user assets.”
The platform has clearly become a major player in the decentralized futures market, as numerous whales have been spotted depositing large amounts of USDC into Hyperliquid to purchase $HYPE. And it isn’t just the amount of volume being generated that’s eye-catching—it’s also where the volume is being generated. As noted, the volume over the past week against Binance’s perpetual contracts has surged, which displays a clear uptick in sentiment among big players in the space. And what is driving that sentiment? The same thing that drives all bullish sentiment: profit potential.
Whale Activity Signaling Long-Term Confidence in $HYPE
Even if the price of $HYPE has decreased, the numerous substantial deposits made by whales show that they are quite confident in $HYPE’s growth and value in the long term. Whales tend to do things with a long-term horizon in mind, and their ability to withstand short-term volatility often reflects a deep and wide belief in an asset’s future gains. Again, with the large size of these deposits, these whales may well see $HYPE as way undervalued right now and are potentially angling for a substantial future upside.
The past day has shown more than just a short-term bet on the price to pay the price for a valuable asset—an accumulation at discounted rates. That’s what the whale activity we’ve observed during this cryptocurrency market downturn indicates to us. Increased deposits into Hyperliquid suggest that the large investors (or “whales”) doing this have a strong belief in the future performance of $HYPE. They’re “buying the dip” at what they reckon could be a future low point.
Conclusion
Even if $HYPE is experiencing a downturn in the short term, the growing number of whale deposits at Hyperliquid suggests that large investors are betting on the token’s future. While the market may be dipping to range lows, these whales seem to see it as the perfect opportunity to load up on $HYPE at lower prices. And as the volume on Hyperliquid continues to rise and the platform sees still greater interest from whales, it makes you wonder: shouldn’t we start thinking of $HYPE as a token with more than just short-term prospects? Hyperliquid being a decentralized exchange, with whale activity like this, we could very well see a resurgence in $HYPE in the coming months.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
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