Arthur Hayes sold his entire HYPE and NEAR positions on June 4, unloading tokens he'd aggressively promoted just days earlier. The BitMEX co-founder and Maelstrom CIO pointed to rising energy prices from Iran tensions and a wave of mega AI IPOs as reasons for the shift, saying he believes markets may peak between now and September. Hayes is rotating the proceeds into Bitcoin.
The latest exit
On May 30 — four days before the sale — Hayes posted “$HYPE to $150” and touted his “holy trinity” of altcoins: HYPE, ZEC, and NEAR. The timing isn't great optics. His public wallet data shows the selloff came swiftly after that bullish call. Hayes explained the move as a risk-off play tied to macroeconomic pressures, not a loss of faith in the projects themselves.
A familiar pattern
This isn't the first time Hayes has talked up a token only to exit shortly after. In September 2025 he sold his entire HYPE position for $5.1 million — joking the proceeds would cover a Ferrari deposit — after months of bullish chatter. He later bought back in and resumed promoting it before selling again this week. Past instances include similar cycles with ETH, PEPE, and ENA: build a narrative, pump it publicly, then sell when the timing feels right.
The $100K bet against Samani
Hayes still has a $100,000 charity bet on the line with Multicoin Capital's Kyle Samani. The wager: Hyperliquid will outperform every top-10 cryptocurrency by year-end 2026. Despite offloading his HYPE bags now, Hayes didn't address whether the bet still stands. Given his stated view that markets might top out before September, the next few months will test whether that conviction holds or if he rotates back in.
The sale doesn't change the bet's terms — it just means Hayes no longer has skin in the game on that side.
