BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes is keeping a bold bet on Worldcoin ($WLD) while the broader market drags down other major tokens. After liquidating what he calls the “holy trinity” of $HYPE, $NEAR, and $ZEC, Hayes’ open support for Worldcoin stands apart.
On June 4, Hayes announced he sold his entire $HYPE and $NEAR positions. He said he will explain the move fully in an upcoming essay called “Reality Test.” His reasons include higher energy prices due to the Iran war, a coming wave of AI IPOs, and a market top he expects between now and September.
The next day, he exited $ZEC after a critical bug surfaced in Zcash’s Orchard shielded pool. He described this decision as conditional, saying he would reconsider and might re-enter at lower prices if his assumptions prove incorrect.
What Hayes Kept, and Why It Matters
Worldcoin is the token Hayes held onto. He said he plans to hold $WLD through the upcoming SpaceX listing, which his fund treats as a high-beta proxy for the AI IPO wave.
“The SpaceX IPO is going to melt people’s faces off,” he said. “Holding the $WLD through the listing next week.”
The question many are asking: if he sold everything else into the crash, what keeps him tethered to Worldcoin?
The Coins He Sold Were Already Leaning Down
On-chain data shows that for every token Hayes exited, large holders and smart money were already moving in a similar direction—toward distribution. That means his sales did not fight the broader trend.
For $NEAR, perpetual whales are heavily net short and sitting on profit. Exchange inflows point to distribution. The smart money index, an indicator that tracks informed traders, has rolled over since early June as the price fell from above $3.08.
$HYPE shows a similar pattern. Hyperliquid whales are net short by about $53 million, while smart traders and public figures stay long. Exchange inflows ran 2.5 times above average, signaling distribution. The smart money index turned lower from the $75 zone.
Zcash is a split case. Hayes sold after the Orchard bug, and $ZEC’s smart money count fell about 4% in 24 hours, moving with him. But the whale cohort rose roughly 11%, and top-100 addresses grew more than 24%, suggesting larger holders bought the dip.
Why Hayes Is Bullish on Worldcoin
Worldcoin reverses that pattern. While the three he sold showed distribution, $WLD positioning still supports holding.
On Hyperliquid, every $WLD cohort is net long. Public figures, whales, and smart traders all hold long positions—quite different from the short-leaning setups on $HYPE and $NEAR.
Whale-held supply off exchanges also ticked up over recent trading hours, from about 9.61 billion to 9.63 billion tokens. That is small accumulation but still accumulation.
The flow picture is mixed but leans constructive. Some smart-money wallets took profit on-chain, but exchange outflows ran above average. Fresh-wallet inflows surged far beyond normal levels, a sign of new buyers stepping in.
Unlike $HYPE and $NEAR, Worldcoin shows no broad weakening of flows.
Will Hayes Sell? The Signal to Watch
So far the data backs Hayes’ decision to keep holding $WLD. The clearest tell going forward is the $WLD smart money positioning. As long as those cohorts hold their longs, the setup supports holding through the listing.
A turn lower would change the picture. If $WLD’s smart money index begins to slip the way $NEAR’s and $HYPE’s did in early June, that would be the first sign the coin he kept is starting to look like the three he sold.
His $ZEC exit shows how fast he moves once a thesis breaks—selling within a day of the Orchard bug.
For now, the split holds. Arthur Hayes sold the three coins where big money was already heading for the exits, and he kept the one where every cohort is still leaning in.
That alignment makes his Worldcoin bet coherent, not contrarian. It also makes the exit signal easy to define. The day $WLD’s cohorts start turning the way $HYPE’s and $NEAR’s did is the day his reason for holding starts to fade.
Until then, he is still in, and the positioning is still with him.
