ZachXBT Questions Arthur Hayes Over WLD, ZEC, HYPE and NEAR Token Sales

TLDR

• ZachXBT questioned Arthur Hayes over sales of WLD, ZEC, HYPE and NEAR.
• Hayes said he sold WLD because the token chart weakened.
• ZachXBT asked whether followers became exit liquidity after bullish posts.
• Hayes said he sold to willing buyers at market prices.
• Hayes denied claims that he recently bought back HYPE tokens.

On-chain investigator ZachXBT has questioned BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes over a series of crypto token sales that followed public bullish comments on several assets, including Worldcoin, Zcash, Hyperliquid and NEAR Protocol.

The exchange between the two figures unfolded after Hayes said he had exited his Worldcoin position, citing weakness in the token’s chart. The sale drew attention because Hayes and his family office, Maelstrom, had previously promoted WLD as part of an artificial intelligence-related investment theme.

ZachXBT alleged that Hayes had followed a similar pattern across WLD, ZEC, HYPE and NEAR, raising questions about whether public followers had provided exit liquidity after bullish posts. Hayes rejected the criticism and said his sales were made in the open market to willing buyers at available prices.

ZachXBT Raises Questions Over Token Sales

The dispute began after Hayes posted that he had sold his WLD holdings. In his message, Hayes said the Worldcoin chart was “going in the wrong direction” and stated that he was out of the position.

ZachXBT responded by asking how much exit liquidity had been created from Hayes’ followers over the previous few days. He referenced earlier activity involving NEAR, HYPE and ZEC, suggesting that the sequence of public commentary and later sales deserved scrutiny.

Worldcoin had been presented by Hayes and Maelstrom as a possible AI-linked crypto trade. The investment case centered on WLD as a publicly traded way to gain exposure to the broader ecosystem around OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman, as investors continued to track future AI-sector listings and related market themes.

ZachXBT said Hayes had repeatedly expressed bullish views on WLD with targets above its trading price before exiting the position shortly afterward. The on-chain investigator argued that the timing made the public comments and the sale difficult to reconcile.

Hayes responded by saying he did not understand the claim that he had used followers as exit liquidity. He said he sold to a willing buyer at a market price and added that if prices had moved higher after the sale, the trade would have been judged differently.

Arthur Hayes Defends Trading Decisions

Hayes said the sale reflected his trading goals and that he “happened to call it right this time.” His response framed the move as a market decision rather than an attempt to influence retail traders.

The criticism followed several recent changes in Hayes’ crypto positions. On June 5, Hayes said the “holy trinity” trade was over after he sold his ZEC holdings following the Orchard Pool exploit. He wrote that although he considered the chance of unauthorized minting to be extremely low, the issue could not be formally proven impossible through cryptographic certainty.

Hayes said the Zcash privacy narrative required a higher standard and that the exploit changed his view of the trade. He added that the 30% decline in ZEC contributed to his decision to take profit on the full position.

At the time, Hayes said he continued to hold WLD and remained positive on the token. That stance changed a day later when he announced the WLD sale.

The sequence drew closer attention from market observers because Hayes has a large audience across crypto markets. His public posts are widely followed by traders who track large investors, crypto founders and fund managers for market signals.

HYPE Activity Adds More Attention

The controversy also expanded after on-chain account Lookonchain said a wallet linked to Hayes had bought back 33,978 HYPE tokens worth about $2.09 million. The post said the purchase followed Hayes’ earlier statement that he had sold his entire HYPE position to take profit when the token was trading above $72.

According to the post, HYPE later fell about 23% to below $56 before the wallet activity was identified. Hayes denied the claim that he had bought the tokens, stating, “I didn’t buy” them.

The denial added another layer to the public discussion around wallet attribution, on-chain tracking and how closely public wallets can be tied to individual investors. In crypto markets, wallet activity is often used to monitor large traders, but attribution can be disputed when wallets are not directly confirmed by the person or entity involved.

The broader debate centers on transparency, public commentary and trading behavior by influential crypto figures. While Hayes said his sales were normal market transactions, ZachXBT’s criticism focused on whether bullish posts shortly before exits can affect followers who buy into the same assets.

The post ZachXBT Questions Arthur Hayes Over WLD, ZEC, HYPE and NEAR Token Sales appeared first on CoinCentral.