Arthur Hayes has done it again. Just now, the BitMEX co-founder and CIO of Maelstrom revealed that he had sold his entire HYPE and NEAR positions. For what? Rising energy prices are linked to tensions in Iran, looming AI IPOs that could drain market liquidity and the belief that markets could peak by September. His solution is to take profits and turn to Bitcoin.
Fine, but the problem is that four days earlier, Hayes was singing a different song. Just a few days ago, he posted “Meow — $HYPE to $150” alongside a cat meme while continuing to promote what he called his “holy trinity” of altcoins: HYPE, ZEC, and NEAR. He even made a $100,000 charity bet with Kyle Samani that Hyperliquid would outperform all top 10 cryptocurrencies by the end of the year.
Then came the exit. There is nothing wrong with taking profits. The problem is that this pattern has become familiar.
In September 2025, Hayes was also aggressively bullish on Hyperliquid, touting a 126x rally potential and repeatedly talking about the token before later selling for millions of dollars. At the time, he admitted that part of the profits had been used to buy a Ferrari.
Eventually, he bought back, renewed his bullish outlook, and began promoting the trade again. Fast forward to 2026, and it’s the same scenario again, new price targets, new beliefs, new narratives, then another exit.
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Arthur Hayes versus the community
The community is there. Arthur Hayes would buy a token that was already moving, promote increasingly aggressive targets, and then sell in the resulting momentum. Others wondered how someone could spend days discussing a $150 target only to liquidate an entire position almost immediately afterwards.
Some Hyperliquid supporters have defended Hayes’ right to trade as he wishes. They are right. He is not obliged to keep his securities forever and no one is obliged to copy his transactions.
Yet Hayes isn’t just another crypto influencer. He is one of the most recognizable figures in the industry, a pioneer in crypto derivatives, and someone whose market commentary still carries weight. When he repeatedly builds bullish narratives around a token and then leaves shortly after, people will naturally question him.
The frustration doesn’t really come from this one transaction. This is becoming a trend that we have already seen in ETH, PEPE, ENA, HYPE and other positions. Hayes’ portfolios are public, so anyone can take a look. But transparency alone doesn’t eliminate criticism when the same bullshit is repeated.
Hayes is expected to publish a longer essay explaining his decision, and perhaps his macroeconomic concerns will prove correct. Markets can move quickly and careful risk management is part of the game.
In fairness, crypto has no shortage of bullish narratives. What is missing is accountability when these narratives suddenly disappear the moment profits are on the table.
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The post Arthur Hayes Dumped HYPE and NEAR: Shill, Pump, Dump, Repeat appeared first on Cryptonews.
