Arthur Hayes, the former BitMEX CEO, has thrown his weight behind a bullish thesis from his investment firm Maelstrom that targets Worldcoin (WLD) at $5 by August. Hayes said he sold his entire positions in HYPE and NEAR to hold WLD, citing the upcoming SpaceX IPO next week. At press time, WLD traded at $0.5192 — a long way from the target, but the thesis rests on a bet that AI mega IPOs will drive demand for liquid proxies.
Why Worldcoin as an AI Proxy
Maelstrom's argument positions WLD as a high-beta play on the coming wave of AI public offerings. The firm points to Anthropic's IPO filing and expects companies like OpenAI and SpaceX to follow. SpaceX filed a confidential S-1 on April 1, which Maelstrom notes sent high-beta space stocks like Rocket Lab up 165% in a single day. The logic: if AI companies debut with massive valuations, traders will look for liquid tokens that track the same narrative. WLD, with a $2 billion unlocked market cap, looks small relative to the billions that AI IPOs could command.
Worldcoin itself has been through a rough patch. The token is down year-to-date, and perpetual funding rates have turned deeply negative. In March 2025, the project closed a $65 million OTC round, with $25 million locked for six months. OTC participants have been hedging their exposure, adding to the bearish pressure. But Maelstrom sees the negativity as an opportunity.
The Short Squeeze Case
Maelstrom argues that a short overhang exists in WLD. With funding rates negative, many traders are shorting the token. If a catalyst — like the SpaceX IPO — forces shorts to cover, the resulting squeeze could send prices higher. The firm also points to a scheduled reduction in daily token unlocks: on July 24, the daily unlock rate drops 43%, cutting selling pressure significantly.
That unlock drop is one of the few concrete catalysts on the horizon. Hayes explicitly mentioned the SpaceX IPO next week, though it's unclear whether that alone would trigger a squeeze. The thesis depends on a reflexive loop: buying from a major holder could push the price up, forcing more shorts to close.
Eightco's Position and the Reflexive Loop
Eightco Holdings, trading under the ticker ORBS, holds approximately 283 million WLD — 8.3% of the circulating supply. The company also has about $144 million in cash and equivalents. Maelstrom claims Eightco 'is just getting started' and that even a modest allocation of that cash into WLD could create a reflexive buying loop. If Eightco starts accumulating, the price rises, shorts scramble, and the buying accelerates.
But it's not a sure thing. Eightco hasn't announced any WLD purchases beyond what it already holds. And the OTC hedges from the March round could continue to weigh on the market. The daily unlock reduction on July 24 is a fixed event, but whether that alone is enough to reverse WLD's downtrend is an open question.
Hayes himself is betting it is. He's gone all-in on the token, swapping out HYPE and NEAR for WLD. The SpaceX IPO next week will be the first real test of the proxy thesis. If Rocket Lab's 165% pop is any guide, a successful SpaceX listing could ignite interest in anything tied to AI and space. WLD investors will be watching closely.
