Arthur Hayes dumped his entire Hyperliquid (HYPE) and NEAR Protocol (NEAR) stakes worth roughly $18 million, pushing HYPE down more than 4% on Thursday.
Key Points:
- Arthur Hayes sold 247,334 HYPE tokens worth about $18 million, plus an undisclosed NEAR position.
- The BitMEX co-founder blamed Iran-war energy prices and three looming AI listings for the exit.
- He expects markets to peak before September and called the sale profit-taking.
Hayes Liquidates HYPE Position
On-chain records showed Hayes sold 247,334 HYPE tokens, valued near $18.02 million, alongside an undisclosed batch of NEAR. The BitMEX co-founder announced the exit on X. He promised a full explanation in an essay called Reality Test, due next Tuesday.
He listed four reasons for the sale. Higher energy costs from the Iran war and inventory restocking led the list, followed by three large artificial intelligence listings tied to SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic. He also expects Donald Trump to turn against AI to help Republicans win the midterms, a shift he reads as a market risk.
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Profit-Taking Before September
The trader expects markets to peak between now and September, so he moved to bank gains while prices still held. He called it "time to take profit."
His timing drew notice because Grayscale had just launched a Hyperliquid staking exchange-traded fund a day earlier, a step many traders read as bullish. HYPE slipped below $70 and traded near $69.10 after the news, down about 4.29% on the day. The token had cleared $30 in February and pushed beyond $75 in recent weeks on record volume.
The contrast matters. Hayes built a name as one of Hyperliquid's loudest backers, so a clean exit from his favorite token signals real caution about the wider rally. He stays bullish on Worldcoin (WLD), eyeing a $10 target.
Hayes HYPE Reversal
The sale marks a sharp reversal from months of loud conviction. In Apr., Hayes had gathered more than 26,000 HYPE worth about $1.1 million and stamped a $150 price target on the token.
He later wagered $100,000 that HYPE would beat every other top-ten asset by year's end, and predicted it would overtake Solana (SOL) by value before the run closed. His words and his trades now pull in opposite directions, and the coming essay should show whether he is calling a top or merely rotating capital.
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