Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, gained market attention after executing a high conviction rotation out of Ethereum and in a selected group of decentralized financial tokens. On-chain data, later reinforced by his public remarks, shows a deliberate concentration of capital in specific DeFi protocols that he believes are positioned to outperform as liquidity conditions evolve.
Ethereum was sold, not abandoned
Blockchain data shows that over a two-week period, Hayes reduced its exposure to Ethereum by selling a total of 1,871 ETH, valued at approximately $5.53 million at the time of execution. This was not an isolated transaction, as the ETH sales were closely followed by a series of DeFi purchases, indicating that Ethereum was used as a source of funding rather than an asset that he was abandoning for reasons of conviction.
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This model aligns with Hayes’ broader vision of The role of Ethereum in the market. ETH increasingly serves as fundamental infrastructure and productive collateral, while much of the additional yield potential has migrated to protocols closer to yield generation and cash flow activity. Hayes had already flagged this thinking earlier, after reducing exposure to ETH in August, making recent sell-offs part of a continuing reassignment rather than a sudden reversal.
Hayes later reinforced the rationale publicly, stating that its portfolio was moving away from ETH and toward “high-quality DeFi names,” based on the hope that these assets could outperform in an environment of improving fiat liquidity. The speed and coordination of the transactions suggest a clearly macroeconomic movement rather than tactical speculation.
The thesis behind the purchases of Pendle, Lido DAO, Ethena and Ether.fi
Following the ETH sales, Hayes redeployed his capital across four DeFi protocols, each targeting a different segment of the market. Ethereum Financial Stack. Initial purchases included 961,113 PENDLE worth approximately $1.75 million, reflecting exposure to yield tokenization and on-chain fixed income markets. It also acquired 2.3 million LDOs valued at approximately $1.29 million, positioning itself on liquid staking infrastructure which continues to play a central role in The economics of Ethereum staking.
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Additional allocations were made to Ethena and Ether.fi, with Hayes purchase 6.05 million ENA worth approximately $1.24 million and 491,401 ETHFI worth approximately $343,000. Minutes later, on-chain trackers reported follow-on purchases, showing Hayes doubling on two positions. It added another 4.86 million ENA worth nearly $986,000 and 697,851 ETHFI worth around $485,000, pushing the total DeFi deployment well beyond the initial allocation.
The structure of these purchases is important. Pendle targets yield markets, Lido anchors liquidity, Ethena focuses on dollar synthetic mechanics and Ether.fi captures emerging restocking yields. Together they provide strong exposure to yield, capital efficiency and adoption at the infrastructure level rather than narrative-driven jobs.
Hayes’ actions underscore a consistent message: Ethereum remains the base layerbut he sees the strongest, risk-adjusted opportunities in DeFi protocols that actively convert ETH into productive, revenue-linked assets.
Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com
