Arthur Hayes exited his HYPE and NEAR positions, citing AI IPO liquidity risks, rising energy costs, and expectations of a market peak before September.
Crypto News
BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes announced on June 4 that he has sold his entire positions in Hyperliquid (HYPE) and Near Protocol (NEAR). Hayes cited rising energy costs tied to geopolitical tensions, the three major AI company initial public offerings (IPOs) expected before the end of Q3 2026, and his view that broader financial markets would peak before September as reasons for the decision. He also predicted that US President Donald Trump would adopt a public anti-AI stance ahead of the midterm elections to benefit the Republican Party.
Source: Arthur Hayes
Hayes serves as chief investment officer at family office Maelstrom in addition to his role as BitMEX co-founder. "I just dumped my entire HYPE and NEAR position," he wrote in an X post on June 4, adding that he believed market highs would arrive "btw now and September" and that it was "time to take profit." The announcement came days after he had reiterated a $150 price target for HYPE and publicly challenged Multicoin Capital co-founder Kyle Samani to a $100,000 charity bet, arguing that HYPE would outperform every top 10 cryptocurrency by the end of 2026.
Blockchain data platform Onchain Lens confirmed that Hayes sold 247,334 HYPE for approximately $18 million. An undisclosed amount of NEAR was also sold on the same date. Hayes had previously set a 20x rally target for NEAR by 2027 and, in a March 2026 essay, laid out a detailed case for how HYPE could reach $150.
The exit drew immediate criticism. Arthur Cheong, founder of crypto investment firm DeFiance Capital, described the move in an X post as "the epitome of a guy that over-trades his position."
Source: Arthur Cheong
Crypto trader TraderSZ, who holds more than 683,000 followers on X, pointed to the contradiction between Hayes's recent bullish case and the sudden sale. Several commentators questioned whether Hayes' public market calls should be treated as actionable guidance by retail investors.
HYPE fell 8.4% to $65 on June 4 after pulling back from a record high near $75, according to CoinMarketCap data. NEAR dropped 17.4% to $2.34 over the same 24-hour period. Despite the decline, HYPE remains up more than 166% year-to-date.
"Overheated" Rally and June Token Unlock
Markus Thielen, founder of 10xResearch, said in a report published earlier that week that the HYPE rally had grown overextended relative to project fundamentals. He described Hyperliquid as "one of the most impressive businesses in crypto," pointing to gross margins of roughly 77%, fully on-chain infrastructure, and a token buyback program funded by protocol revenue. At its recent high near $75, HYPE was trading at approximately 25 times projected fee revenue, near the richest valuation recorded over the past year, according to Thielen. Protocol revenue also remained well below its peak, and a large token unlock scheduled for June 2026 could add further selling pressure, he said.
Hyperliquid operates a fully on-chain perpetual futures exchange that processes trades through a transparent order book rather than a centralized venue. The platform was clearing approximately $40 billion in weekly perpetual volume and holding $1 billion in spot assets as of early June 2026. It has also become a closely watched venue for weekend commodity prices and pre-IPO stock activity.
Hayes flagged three AI companies as the primary liquidity risk: OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX. Reuters reported on May 20 that OpenAI had been preparing a confidential IPO filing and could list as early as September 2026. Bloomberg reported on June 4 that Anthropic had selected Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan Chase to lead its offering, with a listing potentially as soon as October 2026. SpaceX filed an S-1 registration statement in May 2026, targeting a public listing date of June 12, 2026. Prediction market Polymarket showed that 74% of traders expected OpenAI's IPO before Dec. 31, 2026, while only 35% expected it before Sept. 30, 2026.
Source: Polymarket
Some market participants have expressed concern that strong investor appetite for the AI IPOs could draw capital away from cryptocurrency markets before the end of Q3 2026.
Related Article: SpaceX’s IPO Is Coming, and Crypto Traders Are Already Betting on It
This article contains links to third-party websites or other content for information purposes only (“Third-Party Sites”). The Third-Party Sites are not under the control of CoinMarketCap, and CoinMarketCap is not responsible for the content of any Third-Party Site, including without limitation any link contained in a Third-Party Site, or any changes or updates to a Third-Party Site. CoinMarketCap is providing these links to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement, approval or recommendation by CoinMarketCap of the site or any association with its operators. This article is intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes only. It is important to do your own research and analysis before making any material decisions related to any of the products or services described. This article is not intended as, and shall not be construed as, financial advice. The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s [company’s] own and do not necessarily reflect those of CoinMarketCap.
