HYPE Leads Bullish Sentiment as Arthur Hayes Favors ETH, ZEC, & Hyperliquid Traders Lose $280M

• HYPE price views diverge as CryptoQuant highlights bullish sentiment and Arthur Hayes warns it could underperform ETH and ZEC
• Nearly 400,000 wallets linked to six third-party apps recorded $280 million in cumulative losses trading on Hyperliquid
• A HYPE recovery from $78.31 to its $97.96 all-time high would turn $2,000 into $2,501.85 before fees and taxes

HYPE price is making headlines. The trading activity supporting its investment case can be expensive for the people generating it. Hyperliquid leads an analyst-sentiment ranking shared by CryptoQuant’s Ki Young Ju, while Arthur Hayes questions whether its token can keep pace with ETH and ZEC. Research into hundreds of thousands of trader wallets adds another concern. Under all the enthusiasm over buybacks is a question about who keeps paying the fees.

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HYPE Price Outlook Divides Hayes and CryptoQuant

In a recent post, Ki Young Ju described HYPE as “the most bullish crypto asset by analyst sentiment.” The ranking placed it ahead of BNB, Solana and Bitcoin, with fee-funded HYPE buybacks central to the positive outlook. This measures analysts’ views, rather than guaranteeing future returns.

Arthur Hayes sees a crowded trade. According to a recent report, the BitMEX co-founder acknowledged Hyperliquid’s success in attracting demand for on-chain perpetual futures. His concern was that increasingly similar competing exchanges could weaken HYPE’s investment appeal.

Hayes argued that HYPE could significantly underperform Ethereum’s ETH and Zcash’s ZEC. His criticism concerns the returns available for the risk taken, rather than a specific prediction of an imminent collapse. Reporting on his remarks also points to growing competition among perpetual DEXs.

With HYPE trading around $78.31, a return to its all-time high of $97.96 would mean a gain of roughly 25.09%. Using those prices, MarketCapOf’s profit calculator shows that a $2,000 investment would grow to $2,501.85, delivering a $501.85 profit before fees and taxes if HYPE reached that peak again.

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Hyperliquid Trader Losses Expose the Cost of Activity

Research by Hyperdash examined nearly 400,000 wallets associated with six consumer apps, including Phantom, MetaMask, and Rabby. Their cumulative losses across Hyperliquid reached approximately $280 million. The figure covers perpetual trading across markets, not simply positions in HYPE.

The fee breakdown needs closer attention. About $126 million of those losses came from trades routed through the apps since November 10, 2025. Fees accounted for roughly $66.9 million, slightly more than half of that narrower total. The apps charge builder fees on top of Hyperliquid’s base trading charges.

Hyperdash’s retention chart shows 39% of new traders still active after one month, falling to 9% after six months. This is a 30-percentage-point decline, although inactivity alone does not explain why someone stopped trading.

These figures complicate the bullish story without settling it. Third-party app charges do not all flow into HYPE buybacks, and trader losses do not automatically imply weaker token returns. But maintaining activity requires returning customers or a steady stream of newcomers. For HYPE investors, that makes retention worth watching alongside fee revenue.

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