Cryptocurrency investor Arthur Hayes and his family office, Maelstrom, have built a large position in Hyperliquid‘s HYPE token, predicting it will reach $150 by August. This marks a reversal from last year when his fund sold millions in HYPE after warning it was overvalued. The token rose over 9% following his latest comments, partly fueled by high trading volume in tokenized oil contracts amid Middle East tensions.
Arthur Hayes and his family office Maelstrom now hold Hyperliquid‘s HYPE token as their largest non-Bitcoin investment. Hayes stated he forecasts the token will hit $150 by August, a fivefold increase from its Monday price.
Hayes cited the exchange’s aggressive token buyback program and the growth of its permissionless markets. HYPE surged more than 9% following the publication of his newsletter.
Increased trading of tokenized oil perpetuals on the decentralized exchange over the weekend also contributed to the price rise. More than $160 million in oil contract volume changed hands on Hyperliquid in a 24-hour period.
“Pandora’s box is open,” said Hyunsu Jung, CEO of Hyperliquid treasury firm Hyperion DeFi. “The narrative around onchain financial services is changing.”
Hayes has a history of bold predictions that he later reverses. Last year, he predicted Hyperliquid’s fees would grow more than 100-fold by 2028.
A month later, a Maelstrom report argued HYPE would fall as creators sold locked tokens. The fund then sold some $5 million worth of HYPE.
HYPE fell from about $45 to an eight-month low of $20 in January before recovering to around $34. Hayes argues exchanges can profit during market downturns due to increased trading activity.
Hyperliquid spends roughly 97% of its revenue buying back its token. “No other project in all of crypto hands as much money back to token holders as Hyperliquid,” Hayes wrote.
His $150 target requires annualized revenue to reach $1.4 billion, a level it hit last August. This depends on continued growth from permissionless markets introduced in October.
“Hyperliquid must give traders something new and shiny to trade on-chain,” he concluded.
