Hayes Altcoin Sale: $13.5M ETH, ENA & PEPE; Sees BTC $100K
BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes executed a rapid altcoin sale of $13.5M in six hours, offloading 2,373 ETH, 7.76M ENA and 38.87B PEPE. He cited looming US tariffs, slower credit growth after nonfarm payrolls, and geopolitical tensions as triggers. Hayes expects Bitcoin to retrace to $100,000 and Ethereum to dip to $3,000. In the past 24 hours, BTC slid from $120,000 to $113,000, while ETH fell below $3,500 (-2.8%). On-chain data reveals another large whale shifted over $90M of ETH to exchanges, contrasting with major investor SharpLink adding 14,933 ETH (~$52.6M), raising its holdings to 464,209 ETH. This wave of altcoin sale and strategic accumulation underscores market volatility and the sensitivity of traders to macro catalysts.
Bearish
Large-scale altcoin sales by a prominent whale typically exert downward pressure on token prices in the short term. Hayes’s decision to offload $13.5M amid macro catalysts such as US tariffs and slowing credit growth signals cautious sentiment and may drive further selling pressure. The concurrent redeployment of ETH by other whales adds complexity: while another whale’s $90M ETH transfer to exchanges could magnify bearish momentum, SharpLink’s substantial ETH accumulation suggests pockets of opportunistic buying. In the long term, Hayes’s forecast of Bitcoin at $100K and Ethereum at $3,000 could anchor bullish expectations, but near-term market stability will depend on macro developments and balance between sell-offs and accumulations.