Arthur Hayes sells HYPE and NEAR days after bold $100K wager

Arthur Hayes said he sold his entire HYPE and NEAR positions, marking a sharp turn from his recent public support for both tokens. 

The BitMEX co-founder said he will explain the move in an essay titled “Reality Test” next Tuesday.

The sale drew attention because Hayes had made several bullish posts on HYPE and NEAR in recent months. Reports citing Onchain Lens said he sold 247,334 HYPE tokens worth about $18.02 million.

“I just dumped my entire $HYPE and $NEAR position,” Hayes wrote on X. He said the decision came before a period when markets may form highs between now and September.

Arthur Hayes’ $100K HYPE bet returns to focus

The exit comes shortly after Hayes challenged Multicoin Capital co-founder Kyle Samani to a $100,000 charity bet tied to HYPE. Under the proposed terms, HYPE would need to outperform any altcoin above $1 billion in market value between Feb. 10 and July 31.

As previously reported by crypto.news, Hayes made the wager after Samani criticized Hyperliquid’s structure and design. The loser would donate $100,000 to a charity chosen by the winner.

Hayes also published a March thesis that placed HYPE among his strongest liquid crypto positions. In that essay, he set a $150 target for HYPE by August 2026, based on Hyperliquid’s revenue and market-share growth.

Market-top warning drives sale

Hayes listed several reasons for taking profit. He pointed to higher energy prices linked to the Iran war and inventory restocking as one source of market pressure.

He also cited three large AI IPOs expected between now and early Q3. Hayes said those listings could affect capital flows and risk appetite across crypto and equity markets.

A third reason involved U.S. politics. Hayes predicted that President Donald Trump may turn against AI to help Republicans in the midterm elections.

That view places the sale inside a wider macro call. Hayes did not say whether he had closed other crypto positions, but his HYPE and NEAR exit shows a clear reduction in altcoin risk.

HYPE thesis meets market reality

The timing puts Hayes’ earlier HYPE thesis under review. As previously reported, Hyperliquid processed about $2.6 trillion in notional trading volume in 2025, compared with Coinbase’s $1.4 trillion.

That growth helped fuel interest in HYPE as an on-chain derivatives trade. Hyperliquid’s fee model, user growth and buyback structure were central to Hayes’ earlier bullish case.

The sale does not erase that platform data. It does show that Hayes is now separating project strength from market timing.

However, Hayes remains publicly bullish on Worldcoin. He recently said he was holding WLD through a coming listing event, while Maelstrom argued that WLD could benefit from the AI IPO wave.

For now, his HYPE and NEAR sale leaves traders watching his next essay. The key question is whether Hayes is calling a wider market top or rotating capital toward AI-linked crypto assets.