HYPE Whale’s $902K Bet Grows to $23M as On-Chain Data Shows Staged Selling

A 2-year-old $HYPE whale is starting to realize massive gains, pocketing large profits in sizeable transactions. According to basic on-chain analysis, the investor is currently sitting on a 26x gain on the now-major cryptocurrency, becoming a trading legend in the process and showing that a buy-and-hold strategy can still work wonders over the riskier day-trading alternative.

Analytics firm Lookonchain tweeted regarding the successful investor:

According to Lookonchain’s reporting, the whale began buying three and a half years ago using its HIP-2 system address. The transactions occurred in batches of 1,000-5,000 tokens until the total reached 257,928. The buying price for $HYPE tokens ranged from $ 3.39 to $3.72. The token is now trading around $85 at press time, slightly down from the $90 valuation it traded at in previous weeks. 

The whale paid $902k for the entire stash, and it is now worth more than $23 million, a 26x increase. The whale had been lying dormant for most of the last 2 years until it suddenly started liquidating its holdings. It deposited a significant portion of its $HYPE holdings in batches of 50,000, 51,421, and 30,000 tokens, plus smaller residual amounts.

Why is the Whale Deciding to Liquidate Now?

$HYPE has produced strong results over the last couple of years, with gains of up to 26x. So, this major holder’s move to sell their stash, in whole or in part, is likely a simple profit-taking exercise. The cryptocurrency went as low as $52 back in August as the crypto market endured crippling bearish conditions. 

Now, with $HYPE comfortably back above $90, it seems like an opportune moment for the holder to realize a large portion of their gains. They still hold more than half of their coins even after the 26x gain, which analysts argue shows major conviction. Major moves like this remain rare, as investors regularly lose money rather than make money because of higher entry points, scams, and limited HODLing capacity. 

On-chain analysts haven’t yet identified the mysterious whale beyond the reported activity. Since the whale deposited their coins into a centralized exchange, they likely want to convert them into other assets. This is a common strategy for investors looking to flip an asset.