Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, has sold his entire holdings of Hyperliquid’s HYPE token and NEAR Protocol’s NEAR token, signalling a more cautious stance on the crypto market as he warns of growing macroeconomic risks.
According to on-chain data, Hayes transferred 247,334 HYPE tokens, worth about $18.02 million, to centralized exchanges, including OKX and Bybit. The transactions followed his public announcement that he had fully exited both HYPE and NEAR positions.
Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) has dumped 247,334 $HYPE ($18.02M) and an unknown amount of $NEAR.
Interestingly, the sale comes shortly after Arthur publicly challenged @KyleSamani to a $100K charity bet, claiming that $HYPE will outperform every other top-10 cryptocurrency by… https://t.co/AoaN5klG0W pic.twitter.com/JDqsZ9CK2u
— Onchain Lens (@OnchainLens) June 4, 2026
The move comes despite Hayes recently expressing strong confidence in Hyperliquid’s long-term prospects. Just days earlier, he publicly accepted a $100,000 charity wager with Multicoin Capital co-founder Kyle Samani, betting that HYPE would outperform every other top-10 cryptocurrency by the end of 2026. Samani selected Solana’s SOL token as his pick, setting up a closely watched contest within the crypto community.
Hayes points to macro risks
In a post on X, Hayes explained that several macroeconomic factors influenced his decision to reduce exposure to risk assets.
I just dumped my entire $HYPE and $NEAR position, I will explain why in my essay “Reality Test” dropping next Tuesday.
TLDR:
– Higher energy prices due to Iran war and inventory restocking
– 3 Mega AI IPOs between now and early Q3
– Prediction that Trump goes anti-AI to win…— Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) June 4, 2026
He cited rising energy prices driven by geopolitical tensions involving Iran, along with inventory restocking pressures and increasing costs for households and businesses. Hayes believes these factors could create headwinds for financial markets in the coming months.
The veteran trader also revealed that he will provide a more detailed explanation in an upcoming essay titled “Reality Test,” which is expected to be released next week.
AI IPO wave could pull liquidity from crypto
Another key concern for Hayes is the expected wave of major artificial intelligence initial public offerings between now and the early third quarter.
According to Hayes, several high-profile AI listings could attract significant investor capital, reducing liquidity available for cryptocurrencies and other digital assets. He also suggested that potential political developments in the United States could add further uncertainty for risk markets.\
Hayes said these factors could limit upside momentum across the broader crypto sector in the near term.
HYPE remains near record levels
Despite the large sale, HYPE has remained relatively resilient. The token recently climbed to fresh all-time highs near $75, supported by growing activity on Hyperliquid’s decentralized perpetual futures platform.
Hayes expects crypto markets to reach a cycle high sometime between now and September. As a result, he said he is taking profits, reducing large directional bets, and increasing his focus on Bitcoin and other high-conviction opportunities.
Earlier last month, Arthur Hayes said Bitcoin was no longer driven mainly by crypto cycles like halving events. In his essay, “The Butterfly Touch,” BitMEX co-founder stated that Bitcoin was now linked to global liquidity.
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