Karla Barker 
Arthur Hayes, the BitMEX co-founder, cleared his “holy trinity” of HYPE, NEAR, and ZEC tokens as the broader market stumbled. But he is still holding Worldcoin (WLD) and calling for it to rise. On-chain data shows why he kept one while selling the others, and what could make him drop it too.
What Arthur Hayes Sold, and Why
Hayes announced on June 4 that he sold his entire HYPE and NEAR positions. He cited higher energy prices due to conflict with Iran, a wave of artificial intelligence initial public offerings, and an expected market top between now and September. A day later, he exited ZEC after a critical bug surfaced in Zcash’s Orchard shielded pool. He framed that move as conditional, saying he could rebuy if his assumptions turned out wrong. For Worldcoin, Hayes said he is holding through the SpaceX listing, which his fund treats as a high-beta proxy for the AI IPO wave.
The coins he sold were already being distributed. For HYPE, NEAR, and ZEC, large-holder positioning was already turning down. Perpetual whales were heavily net short on NEAR, and exchange inflows pointed to distribution. The token’s smart money index had rolled over since early June as the price fell from above $3.08. For HYPE, Hyperliquid whales were net short by about $53 million, and exchange inflows ran 2.5 times above average, a distribution signal. Zcash was a split case: Hayes moved with smart money but against the whales, fitting his own hedge that he could rebuy.
Why Hayes Is Still Holding Worldcoin
Worldcoin reverses that pattern. Where the three he sold showed distribution, WLD positioning still supports holding. On Hyperliquid, every WLD cohort is net long. Public figures, whales, and smart traders all hold long positions, unlike the short-leaning setups on HYPE and NEAR. Whale-held supply off exchanges also ticked up recently, from about 9.61 billion to 9.63 billion tokens, a small accumulation. The flow picture is mixed but leans constructive. Some smart-money wallets took profit, yet exchange outflows ran above average, and fresh-wallet inflows surged beyond normal levels, a sign of new buyers stepping in.
Will Hayes Sell? The Signal to Watch
So far the data backs Hayes’ decision to keep holding WLD. The clearest tell going forward is the WLD smart money positioning. As long as those cohorts hold their longs, the setup supports holding through the listing. A turn lower would change the picture. If WLD’s smart money index begins to slip the way NEAR’s and HYPE’s did in early June, that would be the first sign the coin he kept is starting to look like the three he sold. His ZEC exit shows how fast he moves once a thesis breaks, selling within a day of the Orchard bug.
For now, the split holds. Arthur Hayes sold three coins where big money was already heading for the exits. He kept the one where every cohort is still leaning in. That alignment makes his Worldcoin bet coherent rather than contrarian. It also makes the exit signal easy to define. The day WLD’s cohorts start turning the way the others did is the day his reason for holding starts to fade. Until then, he is still in, and the positioning is still with him.