Arthur Hayes' Tactical Withdrawal

Arthur Hayes, CIO of cryptocurrency hedge fund Maelstrom and co-founder of BitMEX, has reportedly divested all of his HYPE and NEAR positions.

On-chain data tracking revealed that his associated wallet transferred 247,334 HYPE (worth approximately $18.02 million) to Flowdesk, a centralized exchange. This large deposit triggered a decline in the prices of both cryptocurrencies.

Hayes cited three main macroeconomic factors as the reasons for his decision to sell, a reversal from his previous strong bullish stance. Firstly, the risk of rising energy prices due to the ongoing Middle East conflict and the resulting resurgence of global inflation. Secondly, the liquidity drain from traditional and digital markets due to the planned IPOs of three major AI companies—SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI—from this summer through the beginning of the third quarter of 2026. Thirdly, there's the political tail risk that, with the US midterm elections in November 2026 approaching, President Donald Trump might shift towards "anti-AI" populism amid voter anxiety.

However, this doesn't mean his complete exit from the market. Hayes sees the collapse of trust brought about by the rapid social implementation of AI, and the resulting unprecedented reinjection of dollar liquidity by major central banks, as a precursor to a full-fledged bull market where Bitcoin will surge from $750,000 to $1 million by 2026. As a preliminary step, he announced a strategic shift towards Worldcoin (WLD) as an alternative AI proxy.