Hyperliquid has officially kicked off its long-planned team token vesting schedule, unstaking 1.2 million HYPE tokens ahead of a January 6, 2026 distribution. The move marks the first release in a structured 24-month monthly unlock plan and is designed to follow a predictable timeline for the market.
According to a company announcement, the unstaking took place on December 28, 2025, with the tokens coming from Hyperliquid Labs’ team allocation. The project confirmed that future distributions will occur on the sixth day of every month, a detail shared publicly to maintain transparency for traders and token holders.
The 1.2 million HYPE tokens represent roughly 0.3% of the protocol’s total supply of 420 million. While token unlocks often raise concerns about potential sell pressure, Hyperliquid pointed to several mechanisms already in place to help balance supply dynamics.
The protocol currently conducts daily buybacks of approximately 21,700 HYPE tokens. At the same time, staking emissions average around 26,700 tokens per day, resulting in what the team described as modest net inflation. Hyperliquid also highlighted past supply-reduction efforts, including the burn of 37 million HYPE tokens from its Assistance Fund.
This isn’t the first time the market has absorbed unlocked HYPE. In November 2025, a larger unstaking event introduced additional selling pressure, which the project says was partly offset by 1.9 million tokens repurchased through buybacks. The team framed the January unlock as significantly smaller by comparison and consistent with previously shared plans.
In total, the team allocation accounts for about 24% of HYPE’s total supply. Hyperliquid emphasized that spreading these tokens over a two-year vesting period is intended to avoid sudden supply shocks and align with standard practices across decentralized finance projects.
The company also stressed that the vesting schedule does not alter Hyperliquid’s core protocol mechanics or operational roadmap. Instead, the unlocks are tied to long-term compensation commitments for contributors building the platform.
Hyperliquid has built a reputation as one of the leading on-chain perpetual decentralized exchanges, with active usage and revenue generation often cited by industry observers. As the vesting plan moves forward, the project says it will continue to communicate upcoming unlocks clearly, allowing the market to factor them in well ahead of time.
With buybacks, past burns, and a fixed monthly schedule now in place, Hyperliquid appears focused on balancing team incentives with broader token holder expectations as HYPE enters this next phase of distribution.
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