Arthur Hayes Sells HYPE to Buy Ferrari Amid Maelstrom’s $12B Supply Warning – 22/9/2025
Arthur Hayes, BitMEX co-founder and chief investment officer at crypto fund Maelstrom, has sold a portion of his Hyperliquid (HYPE) holdings to finance a Ferrari, weeks after projecting the token could surge 126-fold by 2028.
Blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain reported Hayes offloaded 96,628 HYPE — worth about $5.1 million — realizing a profit of roughly $823,000, or 19% in a month. Hayes confirmed the sale on X with humor: “Need to pay my deposit on the new Rari 849 Testarossa.” The post drew criticism from traders who accused him of promoting HYPE before exiting.
Hayes defended the sale, citing market factors highlighted by Maelstrom. “This is why we dumped $HYPE today. But don’t worry — 126x is still possible; 2028 is a long way off,” he wrote.
Maelstrom also issued a warning about upcoming token unlocks. Starting Nov. 29, 237.8 million HYPE tokens will vest over two years, releasing nearly $500 million per month. At current prices near $50, this represents roughly $11.9 billion entering circulation, with the firm estimating that Hyperliquid’s buyback program will absorb only 17% of the flow.
The firm highlighted that large vested allocations may prompt early insiders to sell, and even major deals such as Sonnet’s $583 million HYPE purchase are unlikely to fully offset the upcoming supply pressure.
Despite selling his tokens, Hayes maintained a bullish long-term view. Hyperliquid has become a major player in decentralized perpetual futures, with HYPE central to governance, staking, and fee distribution. How the market absorbs nearly $12 billion in new supply will be critical in testing the validity of Hayes’s 126x forecast.
