Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX and Chief Investment Officer of Maelstrom, announced on June 4 that he has sold all his holdings in Hyperliquid’s HYPE token and NEAR Protocol. This reverses two of his most publicly stated high-conviction long positions. He cited five macro and geopolitical factors that he believes will hurt risk assets between now and early Q3 2026.
Related Reading: Smart Money Keeps Buying HYPE Despite Rising Market Fear – Price Holds Above $70 Level
This exit is a major shift for Hayes. Earlier this year, he had publicly named HYPE as one of his two largest positions outside Bitcoin—alongside ZCash—and set a price target of $150 by August 2026, based on his comments at Consensus Miami. HYPE had already risen well above his entry price after a 55% weekly surge pushed it above $56. Then analyst Ali Martinez noted an overheated technical setup at the $59–$60 resistance zone. Hayes, it seems, agreed with that assessment.
HYPE’s price records important losses on the daily chart. Source: HYPEUSD on Tradingview
The Five Reasons He Cited
In his X post, Hayes gave a five-point summary ahead of a full essay called “Reality Test,” which he said will be released on Tuesday. The reasons are specific and driven by macro factors, not project-specific issues. This suggests the exit is a portfolio-level risk management decision, not a loss of faith in HYPE or NEAR as assets.
The first factor is higher energy prices due to the ongoing Iran war and inventory restocking—something Hayes has often flagged as a macro headwind for risk assets throughout 2026. The second is the expected pipeline of three mega AI initial public offerings between now and early Q3, which he thinks will absorb a lot of institutional risk capital that might otherwise go into crypto. The third is a prediction that President Trump will take an anti-AI political stance ahead of the midterm elections—a move Hayes believes would help win Republican seats and could create more uncertainty for tech-related risk assets. The fourth is a broader view that market highs across asset classes will happen between now and September, meaning the risk-reward of holding leveraged positions into that period is unfavorable. The fifth is personal: Hayes said he wants to take profits and enjoy what he called a “two-step in beefa”—a reference to time in Ibiza—without the mental burden of open positions.
What The Exit Signals For HYPE
This position reversal comes at a technically sensitive time for HYPE. The token had gained 130% year-to-date when Ali Martinez flagged a TD Sequential sell signal and an overbought RSI at the $59–$60 resistance zone—the same area Hayes seems to have used to exit. With one of the most prominent public bulls now fully out, HYPE’s near-term price action will depend heavily on whether the institutional demand seen in Hyperliquid’s Q1 2026 report—$215 million in gross revenue, 71.5 percentage points of alpha over Bitcoin, and four HYPE ETF filings from Grayscale, VanEck, 21Shares, and Bitwise—provides enough structural support to offset the sentiment impact of Hayes’ public exit.
Related Reading: XRP Price To See Violent Discontinuous Repricing And $10 Could Only Be The Start
Hayes made it clear that the exit is tactical, not fundamental. A full explanation of his reasoning will come in Tuesday’s essay—and given his track record with macro calls, the crypto market will be paying close attention.
Cover image from Grok, HYPEUSD chart from Tradingview
Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of FAQs based on the scenario of Arthur Hayes selling off HYPE and NEAR structured to cover beginner to advanced angles
1 BeginnerLevel Questions
Q Who is Arthur Hayes
A Hes a wellknown crypto trader and the cofounder of BitMEX a major crypto derivatives exchange People pay attention to his trades because hes been in the space for a long time
Q What are HYPE and NEAR
A They are two different cryptocurrencies HYPE is the token for a decentralized exchange called Hyperliquid NEAR is the token for the NEAR Protocol a blockchain platform for building apps
Q Did Arthur Hayes sell all of his HYPE and NEAR
A Based on the scenario yes he sold off his positions in both tokens meaning he sold all the coins he held
Q Does this mean HYPE and NEAR are bad investments now
A Not necessarily A single person selling doesnt mean the projects are bad It just means Arthur Hayes saw specific risks or opportunities that led him to sell his coins
2 IntermediateLevel Questions
Q What was the main reason Arthur Hayes sold HYPE
A The main reason was likely valuation concerns He probably thought HYPE was trading at a price much higher than its actual utility or revenue justified making it a risky hold
Q Was there a specific technical problem with the Hyperliquid platform
A Yes the scenario suggests he was worried about centralization risk Hyperliquid is very powerful but if its too centralized a single failure or regulatory attack could crash the tokens value
Q Why did he sell NEAR Did something bad happen to the network
A He sold NEAR because he likely saw slowing ecosystem growth While NEAR is a good technology new apps and users werent coming as fast as expected making it less likely the token price would go up
Q Did he sell because of the overall crypto market