Why Did Arthur Hayes Exit HYPE and NEAR? Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX and chief investment officer at Maelstrom, said he has sold his full positions in Hyperliquid and Near Protocol’s n
Why Did Arthur Hayes Exit HYPE and NEAR?
Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX and chief investment officer at Maelstrom, said he has sold his full positions in Hyperliquid and Near Protocol’s native cryptocurrencies, citing macro pressure, energy costs, and expected AI-related initial public offerings. The sales cover 2 tokens Hayes had recently promoted publicly. Hyperliquid’s HYPE token and Near Protocol’s NEAR had both been part of his public market commentary before Thursday’s announcement, making the exits a point of controversy among crypto traders. Hayes said higher energy prices were one reason behind the decision. He linked the pressure to the war in the Middle East and inventory restocking, arguing that higher energy costs could weigh on risk assets such as altcoins. He also pointed to expected AI-related IPOs as a
liquidity risk for crypto markets. Hayes cited 3 “mega” AI company listings expected by the early part of the third quarter, saying they could pull capital away from digital assets. While he did not name the companies, Anthropic, OpenAI, and SpaceX are reportedly preparing for public listings this year.
How Did AI Risk Shape the Trade?
The AI angle matters because Hayes tied part of his sell decision to both liquidity and politics. He predicted that President Donald Trump could take an anti-AI stance to improve Republican chances in the
U.S. midterm elections scheduled for Nov. 3. That could create pressure for
projects linked to the AI narrative, including Near Protocol, which has positioned itself as an “AI-native” blockchain. The argument is not only about NEAR’s technology. It is about how quickly token narratives can lose support when macro liquidity, political risk, and sector rotation move against them. AI has been one of the strongest
market themes across public equities and crypto, but a heavy IPO calendar could compete for investor capital rather than support every AI-linked asset. Hayes also framed the sale as a timing call. “I think highs in markets will happen between now and September,” he wrote. “Time to take profit, and two-step in beefa without worrying about my positions.” That message placed the decision inside a broader risk-management view: taking profits before a possible market peak, rather than holding through a period Hayes sees as vulnerable to macro and liquidity shocks.
Investor Takeaway
Hayes’ exit shows how fast crypto positioning can change when macro risk rises. The market reaction is not only about HYPE and NEAR. It reflects a wider concern that
altcoin rallies remain highly exposed to liquidity shifts, energy prices, and crowded narratives such as AI.
Why Did Traders Accuse Hayes of Pumping the Tokens?
The backlash came because Hayes had publicly backed both tokens shortly before selling. In an interview published on May 25, he said HYPE’s price was going to go “much, much higher.” He also praised Hyperliquid’s token structure. “One thing [Hyperliquid] did was they fixed the tokenomics … No VC sales, only a team allocation, and pretty much all revenue going back to token holders,” Hayes said. “No other project does this at scale, in terms of the revenue that HYPE generates.” Hayes argued that Hyperliquid had broadened retail access to markets by allowing users to trade and discover prices in traditional assets, including oil, on weekends when conventional exchanges are closed. His comments on NEAR were also strongly bullish. Hayes said NEAR had the potential to rise 20-fold because intents could play a central role in the privacy narrative, allowing users to move money anonymously across multiple networks. He also said ZCash had 5x potential. On May 22, Hayes wrote on X that HYPE, NEAR, and ZEC were the “holy trinity.” After Thursday’s sale announcement, several users criticized him, with some accusing him of a pump-and-dump-style strategy for promoting the tokens publicly and then selling days later.
What Does This Mean for HYPE, NEAR and Altcoin Sentiment?
The immediate market reaction was sharp. HYPE fell 8.3% over 24 hours to trade at $66.44, while NEAR dropped 17.8% to $2.34. The heavier fall in NEAR shows how quickly AI-linked and narrative-driven tokens can reprice when a prominent supporter exits. For investors, the episode highlights a familiar crypto-market risk: public bullish commentary from influential figures can support sentiment, but it does not guarantee long-term holding behavior. When those same figures reverse course, the market often reacts not only to the sale but to the perceived gap between public messaging and private positioning. Hayes said he would provide more detailed explanations for selling HYPE and NEAR in his next essay, scheduled for June 9. Until then, the market is left with a clear signal that he sees near-term risk outweighing further upside in 2 of the tokens he recently favored. The wider issue is whether altcoin liquidity can absorb similar exits if macro conditions tighten. Higher energy prices, a stronger AI equity pipeline, political risk, and weak risk appetite would all make it harder for speculative tokens to keep momentum. Hayes’ sale does not settle the outlook for HYPE or NEAR, but it does show how vulnerable altcoins remain when narrative conviction meets profit-taking.
