- Hyperliquid price dips 1.2% amid profit-taking and Aster DEX competition.
- Upcoming HYPE token unlocks worth $11.9 billion raise short-term supply concerns.
- Rising open interest and whale buying point to bullish momentum.
Hyperliquid’s price pulled back slightly after today’s sizeable advance, falling about 1.2% to roughly $46.57.
Despite this brief dip, HYPE has climbed 19.5% over the past week, underscoring continued investor interest and optimism about the project’s longer-term prospects.
The retracement follows a strong rally and reflects a mix of profit-taking, technical rejection and intensifying competition in the decentralized derivatives space.
Competition and profit-taking weigh on sentiment
After last week’s strong run, Hyperliquid encountered selling pressure near the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level at $49.36.
The failed breakout prompted traders to lock in gains, triggering a short correction.
On the four-hour chart, the MACD histogram has turned negative, signaling weakening momentum in the near term, while the relative strength index cooled from overbought levels to 69.89, indicating the market needed to breathe after a 19% weekly advance.
Part of the selling also reflects mounting competition between Hyperliquid and the recently launched, Binance-backed Aster DEX.
Since Aster’s debut on September 17, it attracted massive trading volumes, handling $20.8 billion on its first day versus Hyperliquid’s $9.7 billion.
Aster’s rapid adoption and roughly $2 billion locked within a week shifted liquidity in the decentralized perpetual market and temporarily dented Hyperliquid’s dominant position.
Nevertheless, Hyperliquid retains a substantial market presence.
Its market capitalization stands at $12.74 billion and its total value locked (TVL) is $4.85 billion, keeping it among the largest decentralized derivatives platforms.
Traders are watching closely as the project faces near-term headwinds from both external competition and internal supply pressures.
HYPE token unlocks spark supply concerns
HYPE’s most immediate challenge is a looming token unlock schedule that begins on November 29.
About 237.8 million tokens — roughly 24% of the total supply — will start unlocking over a 24-month period.
At the current price, that could introduce nearly $500 million of potential selling pressure per month, partially offset by the project’s planned $65 million monthly buybacks from the treasury.
Netting those figures suggests an approximate $410 million monthly imbalance, which could create short-term volatility as markets absorb the increased supply.
Despite these concerns, the project’s $1 billion treasury, tied to the Sonnet Bion and Rorschach merger, may help mitigate dilution fears.
The treasury’s size and strategic reserves give the team flexibility to manage liquidity and support market confidence through buybacks or ecosystem growth initiatives.
On-chain data shows rising underlying flows
While short-term traders focus on resistance levels, derivatives and on-chain metrics paint a more optimistic picture.
HYPE futures open interest (OI) rose from $1.27 billion last Wednesday to $1.97 billion on Monday — the highest level since early October.
Rising open interest signals fresh capital entering the market, a classic sign of growing bullish conviction.
Data from CryptoQuant also indicate that whales — large investors — are increasing positions, and buy orders dominate both spot and futures markets.
That accumulation trend suggests institutions and wealthy participants are positioning for further gains.
Network indicators corroborate the bullish tone.
According to Artemis Terminal, Hyperliquid’s 24-hour on-chain fee revenue rose to $2 million, outpacing edgeX and BNB Chain.
Higher network fees often correlate with elevated trading activity and liquidity, showing strong user engagement despite short-term market uncertainty.
Key technical levels to watch for Hyperliquid price
Technically, HYPE has shown resilience after breaking a descending trendline and moving above the 50-day exponential moving average (EMA) at $43.54.
It held that level as support over the weekend before pushing back above $48.57.
If the token closes above the next resistance at $51.15, analysts expect the rally to continue toward the all-time high of $59.46 last seen on September 18.
However, failure to hold above the $43.54 EMA could open the door to a deeper correction toward the $41.60 support zone.