Arthur Hayes Sells ~1,871 ETH, Increases USDC and Buys Distressed DeFi Tokens

Published: 2025-12-24 18:32:54 |

Arthur Hayes, BitMEX co‑founder, reduced his Ether exposure in December by transferring about 1,871 ETH (~$5.53M) to exchanges and depositing a further 682 ETH (~$2M) to Binance for sale, according to on‑chain tracker Lookonchain. Hayes rotated proceeds into stablecoins and several beaten-down DeFi tokens, buying roughly 1.22 million ENA (~$257.5K), 137,117 PENDLE (~$259K) and 132,730 ETHFI (~$93K). His wallet now holds about $48M in USDC. These moves follow an earlier weekend swap (680 ETH for ~1.2M ENA) and reflect a defensive shift: reducing ETH exposure near the $3,000 level while keeping large USDC liquidity for flexibility and deploying capital into select distressed DeFi assets. For traders, the actions signal short-term caution on ETH price risk but opportunistic accumulation in small-cap DeFi tokens; watch for potential selling pressure for ETH around exchange deposits and possible price sensitivity in the purchased tokens as Hayes and others rotate funds.

Neutral

The net market impact on ETH is likely neutral to slightly bearish short-term. Hayes moved a material amount of ETH (1,871 ETH) to exchanges and deposited 682 ETH to Binance for sale, which can create short-term sell pressure and increase market sensitivity around the $3,000 level. However, the total sold (~$5.5M) is modest relative to overall ETH daily volumes and his conversion to USDC (~$48M held) suggests readiness to re-enter markets, limiting persistent downside. His purchases of small-cap DeFi tokens (ENA, PENDLE, ETHFI) are opportunistic and do not materially change ETH fundamentals; they may instead shift volatility into those tokens. For traders: expect potential short-term ETH weakness if these exchange flows convert to market sells, while the bought DeFi tokens could see idiosyncratic moves if large wallets accumulate or exit. Over the medium-to-long term, the action reads as portfolio rebalancing and liquidity management rather than a directional bearish bet on Ethereum.