Key Takeaways
Why did Arthur Hayes make such a big sale?
He cut risk during a downturn that liquidated over $620 million in positions.
Why is Hayes suddenly bullish on ZEC?
Rising liquidity pressure and growing interest in privacy coins pushed him to buy more ZEC.
The market’s taken a rough turn, and Arthur Hayes is trimming his sails.
The BitMEX Co-Founder offloaded nearly $5 million worth of tokens in a single day, cutting down his positions across several major altcoins. His moves came as the market slipped to multi-month lows, adding to an already uneasy week for traders.
Arthur Hayes lets go of major altcoins
Data from Lookonchain showed Arthur Hayes moving quickly to cut risk after the market’s downturn, routing multiple transactions through FalconX and Wintermute. His largest sale was roughly $2.48 million in Ethereum [ETH], followed by $1.38 million in Ethena [ENA] and about $480,000 in Lido DAO [LDO].
Source: X
He also reduced positions in Aave [AAVE], Uniswap [UNI], and ether.fi, sending a combined few hundred thousand dollars’ worth of tokens to OTC desks. The transfer history shows a clear unwind of exposure within hours.
The rapid exits have caused conversation about Hayes potentially rotating into Zcash [ZEC]. The narrative is gaining traction across X and Reddit.
More recently, Lookonchain reported that Hayes has sold 1,480 ETH worth $4.7 million over the past two days. However, his timing hasn’t been strong. The last time he sold ETH on the 1st of August, it was the local bottom.
Source: X
He ended up buying back at a higher price just nine days later.
A market shaken
Hayes’ rapid sell-off occurred during a period of deep market stress.
Over the past 24 hours, 152,035 traders were liquidated, wiping out nearly $620 million in positions, according to CoinMarketCap.
Bitcoin [BTC] accounted for the largest share with $243.5 million in liquidations, followed by Ethereum at about $170 million. The Heatmap showed pockets of pressure across major altcoins as well, including ZEC, Solana [SOL], and Ripple [XRP].
Source: Coinmarketcap
The biggest single liquidation hit Hyperliquid’s BTC-USD pair for $30.6 million. With leveraged trades unwinding at this scale, sentiment has changed. This creates an environment where large holders like Hayes can move defensively.
Hayes backs ZEC
Building on that, Hayes’ latest public call may have added to ZEC’s surge.
After posting a ZEC/BTC chart and saying he had “aped more,” traders quickly took notice. The pair has been climbing steadily from around 0.0045 BTC and recently pushed through 0.0068 BTC.
A clear pattern of higher highs and higher lows. The chart also showed stronger volume.
Source: X
With rising interest and tighter liquidity, Hayes’s buying confirmed the sentiment shift towards ZEC.
AMBCrypto previously reported that Hayes still sees room for the crypto market to grow.
He noted that past Bitcoin cycles peaked in Q4 after the halving and said this one could do the same in 2025. It could even stretch into 2026 if Trump boosts spending and keeps markets risk-on.