Key Takeaways
- • Multicoin Capital's general partner Spencer Applebaum told Bloomberg that Hyperliquid's HYPE token is the firm's largest hedge-fund holding, though he did not disclose the position's size or portfolio weight.
- • Multicoin reaffirmed its focus on crypto over standalone artificial intelligence investments, with Applebaum questioning efforts to force connections between blockchain and AI.
- • Multicoin's June 25 research described HYPE as one of its largest liquid-fund positions and modeled a $319 price target by 2028 in its base case, a scenario rather than a realized return.
- • September transfer reports tied Multicoin-linked wallets to Coinbase Prime deposits of 4.23 million HYPE since July 28, but these do not confirm sales or establish the current balance sheet.
- • Paradigm's $1.2 billion fourth fund, which spans crypto, AI and robotics, illustrates the broader venture trend of multi-sector mandates.
Summary
Multicoin Capital's HYPE position is now its largest hedge-fund holding, according to general partner Spencer Applebaum, who identified the token as the firm's biggest position in an interview with Bloomberg. Applebaum declined to disclose the size of the position. He said Multicoin bought its HYPE exposure on public markets, and that the firm generally holds publicly traded assets for several years. He also said Multicoin would keep investing in digital assets, citing its crypto expertise, and questioned attempts to force connections between blockchain and artificial intelligence.
The firm's earlier disclosure came in a June 25 investment post, co-authored by Applebaum, Shayon Sengupta and Tushar Jain, which said Multicoin had initiated a large position early in 2026 and kept accumulating, calling HYPE "one of the largest positions in our liquid fund." The research modeled approximately $8 billion in annual earnings by 2028 at a 20-times multiple, producing a $160 billion valuation divided by an adjusted supply of 502 million tokens, for a price above $319. The same report presented a $109 bear case and a $689 bull case. These were investment scenarios published in June, not realized returns or new October forecasts. Multicoin cited risks including decentralization and governance, regulation, competition, interoperability between HyperCore and HyperEVM, token dilution and bad debt.
Separate blockchain-tracking reports from September documented Multicoin-linked transfers to Coinbase Prime. Lookonchain attributed a Sept. 24 deposit of 130,331 HYPE, valued at $12.15 million, to the manager, and put cumulative Coinbase Prime deposits since July 28 at 4.23 million HYPE, worth about $285 million at recorded transfer prices. Coinbase Prime provides institutional custody and execution, so these deposits do not show whether tokens were sold. The available data does not provide a full balance sheet or reconciliation of purchases, withdrawals and holdings, so claims of continuous accumulation go beyond the disclosed evidence.
In a separate development, Hyperliquid Strategies, a Nasdaq-listed treasury company, was linked by Lookonchain to a wallet that bought 494,200 HYPE worth $45.8 million over 16 hours, according to a Sept. 25 report. The company had reported about 29.3 million HYPE, worth $1.9 billion as of June 30, after raising $647 million in equity capital. These purchases were made by a public treasury company and do not represent a disclosed reallocation by Multicoin.
Multicoin's AI stance contrasts with the mandates of some peers. Paradigm raised its fourth fund with $1.2 billion in commitments, announced July 8 by co-founder Matt Huang and managing partner Alana Palmedo, to invest across crypto, AI, robotics and other technology fields. Paradigm named Hyperliquid, Kalshi and Tempo among examples. Framework Ventures raised a $400 million fourth fund in June for crypto, AI, robotics and energy startups, and Haun Ventures raised $1 billion in May for crypto infrastructure, tokenization and AI agents.
The firm's earlier disclosure came in a June 25 investment post, co-authored by Applebaum, Shayon Sengupta and Tushar Jain, which said Multicoin had initiated a large position early in 2026 and kept accumulating, calling HYPE "one of the largest positions in our liquid fund." The research modeled approximately $8 billion in annual earnings by 2028 at a 20-times multiple, producing a $160 billion valuation divided by an adjusted supply of 502 million tokens, for a price above $319. The same report presented a $109 bear case and a $689 bull case. These were investment scenarios published in June, not realized returns or new October forecasts. Multicoin cited risks including decentralization and governance, regulation, competition, interoperability between HyperCore and HyperEVM, token dilution and bad debt.
Separate blockchain-tracking reports from September documented Multicoin-linked transfers to Coinbase Prime. Lookonchain attributed a Sept. 24 deposit of 130,331 HYPE, valued at $12.15 million, to the manager, and put cumulative Coinbase Prime deposits since July 28 at 4.23 million HYPE, worth about $285 million at recorded transfer prices. Coinbase Prime provides institutional custody and execution, so these deposits do not show whether tokens were sold. The available data does not provide a full balance sheet or reconciliation of purchases, withdrawals and holdings, so claims of continuous accumulation go beyond the disclosed evidence.
In a separate development, Hyperliquid Strategies, a Nasdaq-listed treasury company, was linked by Lookonchain to a wallet that bought 494,200 HYPE worth $45.8 million over 16 hours, according to a Sept. 25 report. The company had reported about 29.3 million HYPE, worth $1.9 billion as of June 30, after raising $647 million in equity capital. These purchases were made by a public treasury company and do not represent a disclosed reallocation by Multicoin.
Multicoin's AI stance contrasts with the mandates of some peers. Paradigm raised its fourth fund with $1.2 billion in commitments, announced July 8 by co-founder Matt Huang and managing partner Alana Palmedo, to invest across crypto, AI, robotics and other technology fields. Paradigm named Hyperliquid, Kalshi and Tempo among examples. Framework Ventures raised a $400 million fourth fund in June for crypto, AI, robotics and energy startups, and Haun Ventures raised $1 billion in May for crypto infrastructure, tokenization and AI agents.
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