2 hours ago
Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, has captured marketplace attraction aft executing a high-conviction rotation retired of Ethereum and into a prime radical of decentralized concern tokens. On-chain data, aboriginal reinforced by his nationalist remarks, shows a deliberate attraction of superior into circumstantial DeFi protocols helium believes are positioned to outperform arsenic liquidity conditions evolve.
Ethereum Was Sold, Not Abandoned
Blockchain information shows that implicit a two-week period, Hayes reduced his Ethereum vulnerability by selling a full of 1,871 ETH, valued astatine astir $5.53 cardinal astatine the clip of execution. This was not an isolated transaction, arsenic the ETH income were followed intimately by a bid of DeFi purchases, indicating that Ethereum was utilized arsenic a backing source alternatively than an plus helium was exiting connected condemnation grounds.
This signifier aligns with Hayes’ broader presumption of Ethereum’s relation successful the market. ETH progressively serves arsenic foundational infrastructure and productive collateral, portion overmuch of the incremental instrumentality imaginable has migrated to protocols that beryllium person to output procreation and cash-flow activity. Hayes had already signaled this reasoning earlier, having trimmed ETH vulnerability successful August, making the caller income part of a continuing reallocation alternatively than a abrupt reversal.
Hayes aboriginal reinforced the rationale publicly, stating that his portfolio was rotating retired of ETH and into “high-quality DeFi names,” based connected the anticipation that these assets could outperform successful an situation of improving fiat liquidity. The velocity and coordination of the trades suggest a wide macro-driven determination alternatively than tactical speculation.
The Thesis Behind Pendle, Lido DAO, Ethena, And Ether.fi Purchases
Following the ETH sales, Hayes redeployed superior crossed 4 DeFi protocols, each targeting a antithetic conception of the Ethereum fiscal stack. Initial purchases included 961,113 PENDLE worthy astir $1.75 million, reflecting vulnerability to output tokenization and on-chain fixed-income markets. He besides acquired 2.3 cardinal LDO valued astatine astir $1.29 million, positioning into liquid staking infrastructure that continues to play a cardinal relation successful Ethereum’s staking economy.
Additional allocations went to Ethena and Ether.fi, with Hayes buying 6.05 cardinal ENA for astir $1.24 cardinal and 491,401 ETHFI worthy astir $343,000. Minutes later, on-chain trackers reported follow-up purchases, showing Hayes doubling down connected 2 positions. He added an further 4.86 cardinal ENA valued adjacent $986,000 and 697,851 ETHFI worthy astir $485,000, pushing full DeFi deployment good beyond the archetypal allocation.
The operation of these buys matters. Pendle targets output markets, Lido anchors staking liquidity, Ethena focuses connected synthetic dollar mechanics, and Ether.fi captures emerging restaking yield. Together, they signifier a coagulated vulnerability to yield, superior efficiency, and infrastructure-level adoption alternatively than narrative-driven trades.
Hayes’ actions underscore a accordant message: Ethereum remains the basal layer, but helium sees the strongest risk-adjusted opportunities successful the DeFi protocols that actively person ETH into productive, revenue-linked assets.
Featured representation created with Dall.E, illustration from Tradingview.com
English (US) 