Arthur Hayes, the co-founder of BitMEX and CIO of Maelstrom, liquidated his entire holdings in both Hyperliquid’s HYPE token and NEAR Protocol’s NEAR token on June 4. The move is a sharp reversal from someone who, not long ago, was placing five-figure wagers on HYPE’s dominance and calling these assets part of his “holy trinity.”
Hayes sold 247,334 HYPE tokens for approximately $18 million. The HYPE token dropped between 4% and 10% in the immediate aftermath, depending on which tracker you check. NEAR also saw selling pressure as traders digested the news.
From holy trinity to full exit
Earlier in 2026, he made purchases of HYPE exceeding $1 million and publicly referred to HYPE, ZEC, and NEAR as his “holy trinity” of crypto holdings. He set a price target of $150 for HYPE and backed that conviction with a $100,000 bet that the token would outperform other top-10 crypto assets by year’s end.
Hayes announced his rationale would come in an essay titled “Reality Test,” scheduled for publication on June 9. He pointed to macroeconomic concerns and political risks as driving factors behind the decision, including geopolitical conflict, rising energy prices, and the growing influence of AI on market dynamics.
