Arthur Hayes sold his entire Worldcoin (WLD) stash on June 6, just days after publicly promoting the token. The move sent WLD down 11% within 24 hours and knocked roughly $190 million off its market cap — from about $1.74 billion to $1.55 billion. It was the last of four altcoin positions the former BitMEX CEO unwound in a single week.
The selloff in numbers
Hayes had been talking up Worldcoin on social media. Then he sold. The timing isn't great for the project, which recently rebranded to simply “World” and sits around 51st in the market-cap rankings despite the volatility. The 11% drop came fast — most of it within the first few hours after the sale hit on-chain tracking tools.
ZachXBT calls it 'exit liquidity'
On-chain sleuth ZachXBT was quick to call Hayes out, accusing him of creating “exit liquidity” for his followers. The gist: Hayes pumps a token, his audience buys in, and then he sells before they can. ZachXBT pointed to similar patterns with NEAR Protocol and Zcash — two of the other three positions Hayes liquidated this week alongside Hyperliquid. Hayes hasn't responded publicly to the criticism.
Hayes's track record draws scrutiny
This isn't the first time Hayes has been in the hot seat for trading behavior. In 2022 he pleaded guilty to a Bank Secrecy Act violation and paid a $10 million fine. Critics — and online skeptics — keep bringing that up to cast doubt on his motives whenever he posts about a token. Whether or not the selloff was coordinated with any promotion, the market took a hit, and the accusations aren't going away.
The next question is whether other large holders follow Hayes out the door. WLD's price has partially recovered a tiny bit but remains well below the level it held before the sale hit tape.
