Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, has sold approximately 1,871 ETH valued at $5.53 million over the past week, according to on-chain data. The transactions represent part of a broader portfolio shift that has reduced his Ethereum holdings by more than half since November while increasing stablecoin positions to over 60% of total assets.

What Happened: Exchange Deposits

Hayes deposited 682 ETH worth approximately $2 million to Binance on Dec. 24, according to Lookonchain, an account that monitors blockchain transactions.

The sale follows a previous transfer of 508.6 ETH valued at around $1.5 million to Galaxy Digital earlier in the week.

Proceeds from the ETH sales funded purchases of three DeFi tokens: 1.22 million ENA ($257,500), 137,117 PENDLE ($259,000), and 132,730 ETHFI ($93,000). All three tokens have declined 80-90% in 2025.

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Why It Matters: Strategic Rebalancing

Hayes publicly announced his strategy on X, stating the moves constitute a rotation "out of ETH and into high-quality DeFi names, which we believe can outperform as fiat liquidity improves."

His Ethereum holdings have dropped from 16,000 ETH in 2022 to 3,160 ETH currently, with more than 3,440 ETH sold since November alone.

Data from Arkham shows Hayes increased his USDC position from $1 million to nearly $48 million since mid-November. Stablecoins now represent $48 million of his $74 million portfolio, a shift that occurred as market sentiment remained in fear to extreme fear territory.

Hayes previously predicted Ethereum could reach $20,000 and stated that holding 50 ETH could generate millionaire status by the next US presidential election.

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