BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes executed a series of large sales across multiple tokens, sparking concern among traders. On-chain data shows that in the past six hours, Hayes sold a mix of Ethereum (ETH), Ethena (ENA), and PEPE tokens worth over $13.5 million.
Arthur Hayes’ Major Sales
According to blockchain monitoring data and a tweet shared by on-chain trackers, Hayes’ wallet 0x6cd66DbdFe289ab83d7311B668ADA83A12447e21 made the following transactions:
- 2,373 ETH, worth approximately $8.6 million
- 7.76 million ENA, worth $4.56 million
- 38.87 billion PEPE, worth around $411,000
The sales were conducted across multiple centralized and decentralized venues, including Binance, Uniswap, and B2C2. Screenshots of the transactions show that Hayes converted a portion of his wrapped ETH (wETH) back into ETH and moved it to exchanges, signaling active selling.
In the past 6 hours, Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) has sold:
– 2,373 $ETH worth $8.6M
– 7.76M $ENA worth $4.56M
– 38.87B $PEPE worth $411KAddress: 0x6cd66DbdFe289ab83d7311B668ADA83A12447e21 pic.twitter.com/5zMmoxrQyO
— Onchain Lens (@OnchainLens) August 2, 2025
Market Context: Panic or Strategy?
These moves come during an already fragile moment for the crypto market. As we reported in our earlier article on the market crash, broader sentiment turned negative after a chaotic sequence of events involving President Trump, a weak jobs report, and political pressure on the Federal Reserve.
Trump’s decision to fire the Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner after releasing “brutal” employment data has added to market uncertainty. This report initially increased the odds of a September rate cut, a typically bullish signal, but political drama around data integrity has spooked investors.
Against this backdrop, Hayes’ large token sales appear to have added fuel to the sell-off. Some traders are speculating that this was a “panic sell” or a defensive move to secure profits ahead of potentially higher volatility.
Could This Signal Further Downside?
Historically, large sales by prominent crypto figures like Arthur Hayes can trigger short-term price pressure, especially in low-liquidity tokens like PEPE and ENA. Ethereum also briefly dipped in the hours following the transactions, as market participants watched the outflows closely.
Whether this marks the beginning of a broader liquidation event or just one trader’s risk management remains to be seen. However, the timing – during a politically charged and choppy market – has not gone unnoticed.
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