BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes has trimmed his Hyperliquid (HYPE) holdings, selling 96,600 tokens worth $5.1 million on September 21. The move came just weeks after he publicly predicted HYPE could soar 126x to $5,000, sparking debate about his conviction as both a trader and long-term market visionary.
According to Arkham Intelligence, Hayes’ exit delivered an estimated $823,000 profit, or about 19%, in just a month of holding. The sale triggered a nearly 5% dip in HYPE’s price, highlighting how closely markets monitor his moves. Adding to the pressure, blockchain data showed another whale wallet withdrew $122 million in HYPE, possibly preparing to lock in profits.
Hayes had built his thesis on Hyperliquid’s role as a decentralized perpetuals exchange and likened it to a “casino” for retail speculation. Speaking at the WebX Summit in Tokyo on August 25, he argued explosive growth in stablecoins and leveraged trading could fuel HYPE’s long-term rally. Still, some analysts suggest his quick profit-taking is consistent with his trader mentality — capturing short-term gains while supporting the project’s broader vision.
The timing of his sale also coincided with the rise of Aster, promoted by Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, which some see as a direct competitor to Hyperliquid. Even OKX CEO Star Xu acknowledged Aster’s emergence as a rival before deleting his post.
Despite reducing his HYPE exposure, Hayes remains active in DeFi markets. Arkham data shows he purchased nearly $1 million worth of Ethena’s ENA token ahead of Hyperliquid’s upcoming vote on USDH integration. Ethena Labs, backed by BlackRock, has processed over $23 billion in redemptions, with most USDH revenue pledged back to Hyperliquid.
Ultimately, Hayes’ latest move underscores the duality of his strategy: banking profits today while continuing to bet on decentralized finance’s future.
