Arthur Hayes Doubles Down: Snaps Up 19,277 HYPE Tokens in $499K Bet on Crypto’s Future
Crypto whale Arthur Hayes just made another major move—and it's sending ripples through the market.
The former BitMEX CEO, known for his bold calls and deep pockets, has significantly increased his stake in HYPE tokens. The latest purchase? A cool 19,277 tokens, valued at roughly $499,000 at the time of acquisition.
What the Buy Signals
This isn't casual accumulation. A half-million-dollar addition from a figure like Hayes acts as a powerful vote of confidence. It suggests he sees more than just short-term volatility—he's betting on underlying utility or a narrative that hasn't fully priced in yet. For retail traders, moves like this often serve as a leading indicator, sparking renewed interest and trading volume.
The Bigger Picture
Hayes has never been shy about backing his convictions with capital. His continued investment aligns with a broader trend of seasoned crypto veterans strategically building positions in select assets, even amid regulatory noise and macroeconomic headwinds. It’s a playbook familiar to traditional finance, just with more volatility and fewer suits—and arguably, more transparent ledger entries than your average hedge fund's quarterly report.
While one purchase doesn't guarantee a rally, it undeniably shifts the sentiment needle. When influential players put significant money on the line, the market pays attention. Now, everyone's watching to see if this HYPE is justified—or just another speculative frenzy waiting for the next greater fool.
Hayes records profits in his 2025 crypto investments
Arthur Hayes(@CryptoHayes) bought 19,227 $HYPE ($499K) again after 3 months.https://t.co/DsfW8Dyli8https://t.co/wLnxb4tRvc pic.twitter.com/VUmlZsys5A
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) January 14, 2026
At the time, Hayes revealed that he had offloaded the digital assets to purchase a new Ferrari. The Maelstrom official caused some backlash from traders who accused him of pumping HYPE a month before exiting.
Hayes later refuted the claims, revealing that the sale was linked to concerns presented by his firm. The seasoned market analyst had predicted at the WebX Summit on August 25 that HYPE would surge 126x by 2028. He also referred to Hyperliquid as a decentralized Binance, arguing that it could capture a Binance-level trading share.
Hayes revealed that he had a positive trading performance last year, with his liquid directional book up by year-end. He stated that his goal is to cover his expenses with his trading profits, which he said he has done several times in 2025.
Although Hayes was profitable, he acknowledged that he made a few bad trades. He revealed that his biggest loss was trading PUMP immediately after the token launched.
Hayes plans to stay away from memecoins this year, arguing that he only made money trading TRUMP. He revealed that he only profited from trading HYPE, BTC, PENDLE, and ETHFI.
The investor reported that 33% of his trades were profitable, with an average 8.5 times profit from winning trades compared to losing trades. Hayes is confident that he will improve this year by focusing on his strengths and taking large, medium-term positions based on a clear macro liquidity thesis that supports his narrative.
Maelstrom begins 2026 with almost maximum risk exposure
Hayes said last week that Maelstrom has begun this year with maximum risk exposure. He revealed that the investment fund will extend its aggressive stance adopted in the second half of 2025.
The entrepreneur also confirmed that the fund remains deep in risk assets. Hayes acknowledged that Maelstrom will primarily focus on privacy coins, such as Zcash, and emerging decentralized finance digital assets, which are currently leading the portfolio.
Hayes maintained that this year’s focus will be on privacy tokens. He believes that ZEC will become the privacy beta, acknowledging that he has already taken long positions in the digital asset, which he entered at good prices in Q3 of 2025.
“Maelstrom entered 2026 with almost maximum risk, while we will continue to invest spare cash generated from various financing trades into Bitcoin, our dollar stables position is very low.”
–Arthur Hayes, Co-founder of BITMEX.
Maelstrom’s 2026 stance deviates from its public positioning early last year, when Hayes predicted that BTC WOULD plummet to $70,000. He argued at the time that the drop would be caused by a financial crisis before quantitative easing resumed.
Maelstrom reduced its risk in late January 2025, but began adding risk and going long in terms of outright crypto exposure in April. Hayes said in December that the fund was busy loading up as rate cuts and Fed reserve expansion kicked in.
Hayes is betting that crypto prices will push higher this year, driven by surging nominal GDP, U.S. deficit spending, and what he believes will be an inevitable money printing by the Federal Reserve. He also argued that geopolitical tensions caused by the U.S. intervention in Venezuela will support digital assets. The crypto investor believes that the U.S. will stimulate the economy with credit in an effort to keep oil prices in check.
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