Crypto whale reverses $46M HYPE short, goes long on Arthur Hayes’ picks

Fighting the trend is expensive. Fighting the trend while Arthur Hayes is on the other side of your trade is apparently $46 million worth of expensive.

On-chain trader “loracle.hl” has closed a short position in Hyperliquid’s HYPE token after absorbing losses exceeding $46 million. The capitulation came around June 2, as HYPE surged to a new all-time high of $75.52, punishing a bet that had been underwater for much of May’s rally.

The trader has now pivoted to a long stance on HYPE, along with Zcash (ZEC) and Near Protocol (NEAR), the three tokens that BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes has publicly labeled the “holy trinity” of crypto.

Hayes’ holy trinity and the $150 target

Arthur Hayes, who now serves as Chief Investment Officer at Maelstrom, has set a year-end price target of $150 for HYPE, which would represent roughly a 2x from current levels.

He’s backed that conviction with his wallet. Hayes placed a charitable bet of $100,000 that HYPE will outperform any other top-10 token in USD terms by the end of 2026.

HYPE isn’t just a Hayes hobby horse, though. Hyperliquid’s buyback program has repurchased over $1.16 billion worth of HYPE, funded by the protocol’s own revenue engine. Hyperliquid Strategies posted quarterly profits of $152.5 million, giving the buyback program real financial backing.

Hayes grouping HYPE alongside ZEC and NEAR as his “holy trinity” is notable for the company it keeps. Zcash represents the privacy narrative, Near Protocol sits in the layer-1 infrastructure camp, and HYPE captures the DeFi perpetual futures vertical.

What Hyperliquid’s numbers actually look like

Hyperliquid has established itself as a dominant venue for perpetual futures trading, consistently generating substantial volume that translates into protocol revenue. That revenue funds the buyback program, which has now absorbed over $1.16 billion in HYPE tokens.

HYPE’s surge to $75.52 represents a new all-time high. The current price around $73 suggests the token has held most of those gains.

The quarterly profit figure of $152.5 million for Hyperliquid Strategies grounds the token’s valuation in something tangible, allowing for a more traditional valuation framework alongside narrative momentum.

What this means for investors

Hyperliquid’s buyback program is powerful when volumes are high and revenue is flowing. If trading activity on the platform declines, buyback capacity shrinks, and the virtuous cycle that has supported HYPE’s rise could slow or stall. Perpetual futures volumes across crypto are notoriously cyclical, and protocols that look invincible during bull markets can look vulnerable when conditions shift.

For traders watching HYPE, ZEC, and NEAR, the question is whether Hayes’ year-end target of $150 gives enough runway to sustain the momentum through 2026.