Key Insights
- •Hyperliquid rallied 6% to $42 on November 18 before reversing 6.5% on November 19 following the postponement of Sonnet Biotherapeutics’ treasury acquisition vote.
- •Technical analysts identified a head-and-shoulders pattern with potential downside targets near $30 if key support failed.
- •Hyperliquid announced a growth mode feature under HIP-3 on November 19, offering fee reductions up to 90% for novel market deployments.
Hyperliquid (HYPE) experienced sharp volatility across November 18 and 19 as traders attempted to front-run a corporate treasury acquisition that failed to materialize on schedule.
HYPE surged up to 6% on November 18, reaching nearly $42 while broader crypto markets declined. The rally reversed on November 19, with the token down 6.5% to $37.88 at press time.
According to trader VIKTOR, the price spike stemmed from market participants attempting to front-run purchases from Sonnet Biotherapeutics, a digital asset treasury company scheduled to vote on an acquisition on November 18.
However, the company filed a postponement, pushing the vote to December 2.
The delay left traders positioned for an event that did not occur, triggering the subsequent correction.
Hyperliquid Technical Breakdown Threatens $30 Support
Multiple analysts flagged bearish technical formations on Hyperliquid charts.
Hyper_Up, a profile focused on HYPE analysis, noted on November 18 that the token remained stuck between $37 and $39 for six weeks.
The analyst argued this range represented a pause before the vote rather than genuine support, with participants frozen ahead of the decision.
"It’s not repricing, it’s waiting," Hyper_Up stated, identifying a liquidity pocket below current levels. The analyst projected a sharp move to $30 if support broke, describing it as a realistic target where a local bottom might form.
On the upside, Hyper_Up placed first resistance around $45, with a major monthly sell zone between $45 and $60 where most holders would likely exit.
Trader Nebraskangooner identified a head-and-shoulders pattern on November 18, warning of a potential neckline breakdown.
The formation on the daily chart showed a left shoulder around $50 in late September, a head near $57 in early October, and a right shoulder around $50 in late October. The neckline sat near $39, with a breakdown threatening deeper losses.
Trader DonaldsTrades presented a contrasting view on November 19, identifying a descending channel pattern on the four-hour timeframe.
The trader noted that as long as the red support line held inside the channel, HYPE could target $64.
The chart showed price action consolidating within converging trendlines, with the lower support line near $38 and the upper resistance declining from previous highs.
A breakout above the channel’s upper boundary would activate the $64 target.
Growth Mode Launches Under HIP-3
Hyperliquid announced a development in its HIP-3 protocol on November 19, introducing growth mode for novel market deployments.
The upgrade allowed deployers to activate growth mode on a per-asset basis, reducing all-in fees by at least 90%.
Rebates and volume contributions also decreased by at least 90%. Growth mode applied on top of other multipliers, including aligned stablecoin collateral benefits and staking discounts.
Two conditions governed growth mode eligibility. First, the deployer fee scale must be set to a value between 0 and 1, representing the percentage retained before discounts are applied.
Second, markets must be entirely separate from existing validator-operated perpetual contracts to prevent parasitic volume.
Ineligible assets included crypto perpetuals collateralized by any asset, perpetuals on crypto indexes or ETFs, and vehicles primarily holding crypto assets. Validator votes determined whether ineligible growth mode perpetuals were disabled.
Under growth mode, baseline taker rates ranged from 0.0045% to 0.009% for non-aligned collateral assets, representing a five-to-ten-fold reduction from the 0.045% baseline for validator-operated perpetuals.
At the highest volume and staking tier, taker fees dropped to 0.00144%-0.00288% for non-aligned collateral.
Hyperliquid Token Unlock Pressure Looms
The first core contributor unlock was scheduled for November 29, releasing approximately 9.92 million HYPE, roughly 3% of the current circulating supply.
Core contributors held allocations of approximately 237-238 million HYPE, representing 23.8% of the total supply. These tokens vest linearly over 24 months, releasing roughly 9.92 million HYPE monthly from late November 2025 through late November 2027.
At reference prices around $50 per HYPE from previous reports, the vesting schedule totaled approximately $11.9 billion over 24 months, or $400 to $500 million in new supply monthly.
Analysts see this as a bearish catalyst that could pressure HYPE prices.
Only time will tell if constant enhancements to Hyperliquid and nearly $1.2 billion in annualized revenue will hold HYPE prices against a major monthly overhang.