Arthur Hayes exited HYPE and NEAR, locking in an estimated $18M profit as he shifts to Bitcoin ahead of a potential market peak.
Author: Akshat Thakur
4th June 2026 – Arthur Hayes sells HYPE and NEAR in a full exit, ending two of his loudest altcoin bets. He confirmed the move on X at 05:49 GMT, hours after on-chain trackers caught it.
High Signal Summary For A Quick Glance
𝕋𝕖𝕞𝕞𝕪🦇🔊
@Only1temmy
@CryptoHayes https://t.co/h3IG5OmSQO Lmao https://t.co/0d6PpolTeM
Reminder: There's less downside risk holding HYPE vs other tokens as everyone is still underallocated, so there's quite a bit of sidelined capital looking to slurp any dips. https://t.co/SEWKeMZgL9 https://t.co/TkZrY5wbQe
07:15 AM·Jun 4, 2026
Bold
@boldleonidas
@CryptoHayes Bruh. https://t.co/rwajyxvwZT
Meow - $HYPE to $150 … Fuck TradFi Fuck the Clarity Act Long live Caesar!!!! https://t.co/UlqtnXuMdk
07:08 AM·Jun 4, 2026
dan
@AltsMang
@CryptoHayes 4 days ago. absolute faggotry lol https://t.co/IOuPRyHqtC
Meow - $HYPE to $150 … Fuck TradFi Fuck the Clarity Act Long live Caesar!!!! https://t.co/UlqtnXuMdk
05:59 AM·Jun 4, 2026
High attention and emotional sentiment detected.
The numbers are large. A Maelstrom-linked wallet moved about 247,330 HYPE at roughly $69.27 each, worth around $17.13 million. Across both tokens, trending reports estimate a combined profit near $18 million.
The selling showed up on chain before Hayes said a word. A wallet attributed to him and his family office Maelstrom pushed the tokens out. The flow hit the chain in the early hours of June 4.
According to Hypurrscan data, the primary transfer of 247,330 HYPE landed around 03:40 UTC. A tiny 1 HYPE test transaction went first, at the same $69.27 price.
The coins went mainly to Flowdesk, a market-making desk. Portions then routed to Bybit and OKX per community trackers. So the flow points toward a sale, not a simple wallet reshuffle.
One detail deserves a hedge. The wallet is linked to Hayes through prior Arkham and Lookonchain labeling, not an official Maelstrom statement. Still, the timing lined up almost perfectly with his post.
Timeline of Arthur Hayes’ HYPE Exit and Macro Rotation Call
Arthur Hayes’ family office, Maelstrom, spends months accumulating substantial positions in HYPE and NEAR. The trades become a core part of Hayes’ broader thesis around high-beta crypto assets outperforming during the liquidity-driven phase of the market cycle.
Hayes publicly identifies what he calls the market’s “holy trinity” trade and reiterates his bullish stance on HYPE. He openly discusses a potential $150 HYPE price target, reinforcing confidence among followers and market participants.
Hayes doubles down publicly through essays, interviews, and social media commentary. A high-profile $100,000 charity bet centered on HYPE outperformance further strengthens the perception that he remains strongly committed to the position.
While no new Federal Reserve-specific warning is issued, Hayes increasingly discusses concerns around liquidity conditions, capital allocation toward AI infrastructure, and potential macro headwinds. These comments later appear to foreshadow a portfolio rotation.
On-chain data shows Maelstrom completing its exits from HYPE positions. The transactions are executed before any public announcement, allowing the portfolio rotation to finish without significant market disruption.
Arthur Hayes confirms that Maelstrom has fully exited its HYPE position and also closed exposure to NEAR. He summarizes the decision with a macro-focused outlook, signaling a preference for repositioning ahead of potential market shifts rather than maintaining aggressive altcoin exposure.
Despite the size of the exit, HYPE declines by less than 2% intraday and shows no visible signs of major slippage. Liquidity absorbs the sales efficiently while broader crypto markets remain relatively stable, with Bitcoin continuing to trade near the $100,000 level.
Hayes teases his upcoming essay titled “Reality Test”, scheduled for release the following Tuesday. The preview suggests a broader thesis centered on a potential Bitcoin rotation, with Hayes signaling that BTC could become the preferred vehicle heading into a projected market peak around September 2026.
On-chain analyst @Beliukh_ flagged the exact transaction first. He estimated roughly $10 million in profit on the HYPE leg alone. Hayes locked it in before he ever hit his own target.
“JUST IN: $HYPE Man (Arthur Hayes) has sold his $HYPE bag before reaching his $150 target,” he wrote on X. That $150 figure matters, because Hayes set it himself.
In his March 2026 essay “$HYPE Man,” he called for HYPE to reach $150 by August. So when Arthur Hayes sells HYPE near $69, he cashes out at less than half his stated goal.
Hayes did not frame the exit as a loss of faith. Instead, he tied it to a near-term market top he expects within months.
“I just dumped my entire $HYPE and $NEAR position,” he wrote on X. He promised a full explanation in an essay called “Reality Test,” due the following Tuesday.
His short list of reasons is macro. He cited higher energy prices from the Iran war and three mega AI IPOs due through early Q3. He also bet that Trump turns anti-AI to win the mid-terms.
From there, his logic is simple. Hayes thinks market highs arrive between now and September. As a result, he wants to take profit and sit in Bitcoin without watching open positions.
The NEAR leg is thinner on detail, so it needs care. Hayes confirmed a full NEAR exit in words. Yet no public tx hashes or wallet links have surfaced yet.
That gap matters for accuracy. The HYPE sale is documented on chain, while the NEAR sale rests on his statement alone. Trackers have not yet matched it to a specific transaction.
Both tokens shared the same billing in his portfolio. Back in May, Hayes grouped HYPE, NEAR, and Zcash as his altcoin “holy trinity.” Now two of those three legs are gone.
Not everyone reads the move as bearish. Hayes has trimmed and re-bought HYPE before. So some traders see classic profit-taking rather than a thesis reversal.
He also has not walked back his $150 HYPE view. His case still rests on Hyperliquid’s buyback engine, which routes protocol revenue into open-market HYPE purchases over time.
The market barely flinched. HYPE dipped under 2% after the exit, with Bitcoin near $100,000 and Hyperliquid liquidity still deep. In other words, the sale moved sentiment more than price.
Pushback exists too. Some holders question whether the wallet is definitively his. A few have even called the reports “FUD.” For now, no analyst has disputed the on-chain attribution itself.
When Arthur Hayes sells HYPE, crypto Twitter rarely stays quiet. Sentiment skewed bearish on the near-term alts within minutes. Some posters warned that NEAR could “dump very hard” from here.
Dip-buyers pushed back fast. Others asked whether the drop was a chance to buy cheap HYPE. They bet the token recovers toward Hayes’s old target.
Memes did the rest. The phrase “HYPE Man sells before $150” spread quickly. Jokes about a “broken holy trinity” followed close behind.
The “Reality Test” essay is the next real signal. Hayes says it will lay out his full thesis shift. That includes whether he plans to rotate the cash into Bitcoin.
His own words point that way. He spoke of moving “two-step in beefa,” slang for Bitcoin. Even so, no on-chain proof of that rotation has appeared yet.
The August clock still ticks on HYPE. If the token climbs toward $150, his sell looks early. If macro stress hits first, the exit looks well timed. Either way, watch the wallets for a re-entry.
This article is analysis, not financial advice. Always do your own research before acting on any prominent trader’s moves.
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