Key Takeaways
Why did Arthur Hayes make such a big sale?
He reduced risk during a recession that liquidated more than $620 million in positions.
Why is Hayes suddenly optimistic about ZEC?
Increasing liquidity pressure and growing interest in privacy coins led him to buy more ZEC.
The market has taken a difficult turn and Arthur Hayes is trimming his sails.
The BitMEX co-founder sold nearly $5 million worth of tokens in a single day, reducing his holdings on several major altcoins. His moves came as the market fell to multi-month lows, adding to an already uncomfortable week for traders.
Arthur Hayes releases big altcoins
Data from Lookonchain showed Arthur Hayes moved quickly to mitigate risk following the market downturn, running multiple trades through FalconX and Wintermute. His largest sale was approximately $2.48 million in Ethereum [ETH]followed by $1.38 million in Ethena [ENA] and approximately $480,000 in Lido DAO [LDO].
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He also reduced positions in Aave [AAVE]Uniswap [UNI]and ether.fi, which together send a few hundred thousand dollars worth of tokens to OTC agencies. The transmission history shows a clear taper of exposure within a few hours.
The quick exits have sparked talk of Hayes possibly turning into Zcash [ZEC]. The story is gaining popularity on X and Reddit.
More recently, Lookonchain reported that Hayes sold 1,480 ETH worth $4.7 million in the last two days. However, his timing was not strong. The last time he sold ETH on August 1 was the local low.
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Just nine days later he bought it back at a higher price.
A market shocked
Hayes’ rapid sell-off occurred during a period of major market stress.
152,035 traders in the last 24 hours were liquidatedwiping 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 with around $170 million. The Heatmap also showed pressure points on major altcoins including ZEC and Solana [SOL]and Ripple [XRP].
Source: Coinmarketcap
The largest single liquidation hit Hyperliquid’s BTC-USD pair for $30.6 million. With leveraged trading on this scale declining, sentiment has changed. This creates an environment where big holders like Hayes can move defensively.
Hayes supports ZEC
Building on that, Hayes’ latest public call may have contributed to ZEC’s rise.
After placing a ZEC/BTC chart and said he had “apped more,” traders were quick to notice. The pair has risen steadily from around 0.0045 BTC and recently surpassed 0.0068 BTC.
A clear pattern of higher highs and higher lows. The chart also showed stronger volume.
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With rising interest rates and tighter liquidity, Hayes’ purchases confirmed the sentiment shift towards ZEC.
AMBCrypto previously reported that Hayes still sees room for growth in the crypto market.
He noted that previous Bitcoin cycles peaked in the fourth quarter after the halving and said this one could do the same in 2025. This could even extend into 2026 if Trump boosts spending and keeps markets risky.