Hyperliquid Labs has begun distributing 3.75 million HYPE tokens valued at approximately $330 million under a previously disclosed over-the-counter agreement, completing the first stage of one of the largest team-token releases in the network’s history.
Onchain monitoring reported that 1.875 million HYPE, representing half the allocation, was transferred to five wallets on October 7. Each address initially received 375,000 HYPE, worth approximately $33 million at the transaction’s reference valuation.
The transfers followed completion of a seven-day unstaking process initiated around September 30, which made the tokens available for movement from staking balances to spot wallets. Hyperliquid co-founder iliensinc previously indicated that the entire allocation was covered by an OTC agreement with an undisclosed institutional counterparty.
The arrangement means the team is not distributing the tokens through public exchange order books, although the ultimate buyer’s identity, negotiated price and any contractual holding restrictions remain undisclosed.
Five Wallets Receive Half the Allocation
The initial distribution provides the first observable evidence of how Hyperliquid Labs is executing its October team-token release.
Blockchain monitoring attributed the transfers to five OTC-related wallets, each receiving exactly 375,000 HYPE. Together, those transfers represented approximately $165 million at the valuation used for the broader transaction. Subsequent monitoring indicated that tokens from the intermediary wallets were consolidated into another address, with approximately 1.25 million HYPE subsequently returned to staking.
That activity suggests at least part of the transferred allocation was retained within the staking system rather than immediately directed toward exchange liquidity. However, wallet consolidation and restaking do not independently establish the ultimate beneficial owner or reveal the complete terms of the OTC arrangement.
The remaining 1.875 million HYPE had not been included in the initially reported transfers, leaving the broader distribution incomplete at that stage. The latest developments also clarify the distinction between the October release and earlier token-unlock estimates. Some vesting calendars had listed approximately 9.9 million HYPE as the nominal scheduled October allocation.
Hyperliquid Labs instead unstaked 3.75 million tokens, making the actual release substantially smaller than the headline calendar figure.
OTC Structure Limits Immediate Market Impact
The distribution has attracted attention because of its size relative to previous Hyperliquid team releases.
Earlier monthly distributions reportedly ranged from approximately 140,000 to 534,000 HYPE, making the October allocation several times larger than previous batches. Core contributors were allocated 23.8% of HYPE’s maximum one-billion-token supply at genesis, subject to vesting arrangements.
Large releases can create uncertainty because previously restricted tokens become transferable, potentially increasing circulating supply and future selling pressure. An OTC transaction changes the immediate execution dynamics. Rather than placing a large sell order on a public exchange, the seller transfers tokens to a privately arranged counterparty at negotiated terms.
This can reduce immediate order-book disruption but does not permanently eliminate market risk. The buyer may eventually hold, stake, transfer or sell the tokens, depending on its investment objectives and any contractual restrictions. The reported restaking of approximately 1.25 million HYPE is therefore significant, although it does not guarantee that those tokens will remain staked indefinitely.
Separately, David Schamis, chief executive of HYPE treasury company Hyperliquid Strategies, publicly denied that his company was the buyer of the reported transaction. That leaves the institutional counterparty unidentified despite speculation surrounding the release.
The approximately $330 million headline valuation also represents the tokens’ estimated market value, not a confirmed OTC purchase price. For investors, the key development is that Hyperliquid’s October unlock has moved beyond scheduling into observable wallet activity.
Half the 3.75 million-token allocation has entered the reported distribution process, while subsequent consolidation and restaking provide additional evidence about how the released supply is being handled. The remaining transfers and eventual destination of the tokens will determine whether the transaction continues to limit immediate exchange selling pressure.