Arthur Hayes, co-founder of the BitMEX platform, disposed of digital assets worth over $13 million, including Ethereum ($ETH ) and Ethena ($ENA ) and Baby ($PEPE ). This move comes as he announces a bearish scenario for the cryptocurrency market, attributing it to the impact of President Donald Trump's tariffs and weak U.S. economic data.
Data from Arkham Intelligence showed that Hayes sold millions of dollars worth of these cryptocurrencies and shifted to accumulating USDC, which now makes up more than 80% of his $27.9 million linked portfolio. The address sold 2,373 Ethereum worth $8.32 million, 7.76 million Ethena worth $4.62 million, and 38.86 billion Baby for $414,700. In a post on X, he apparently confirmed that he controls the address and pointed to a bearish scenario for the cryptocurrency market.
Hayes' warnings about Trump's tariffs and his bearish predictions
Hayes clarified that the markets will take a hit from the impact of President Donald Trump's tariffs, some of which came into effect on August 1 and others on August 7, affecting key trading partners. This came alongside a weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs report, arguing that any major economy is not expanding credit quickly enough to boost nominal GDP. Against this backdrop, he predicted that Bitcoin would test '$100,000' while Ethereum would return to $3,000.
At the same time, the cryptocurrency market, as measured by the CoinDesk 20 (CD20) index, lost more than 7.5% of its value over the past week as hopes for an interest rate cut faded. Bitcoin outperformed the broader market with a decline of 3.9%, now standing at $113,500. Similarly, Ethereum saw a drop of 6.5% in the same period and is now trading at $3,500. While hopes for an interest rate cut faded on Friday, they rose later in the session after the labor market showed signs of weakness. Polymarket traders now estimate a 70% chance of a rate cut in September.
Hayes points out that the recent market decline was due to rising tensions between the United States and Russia. After former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev threatened the U.S. in response to an ultimatum for Moscow to agree to a ceasefire, Trump stated that he ordered two nuclear submarines to move to 'appropriate areas.' Despite the sell-off, Hayes may remain optimistic in the long term. In a post last month, he said his target for Bitcoin's price by the end of the year was $250,000, while he saw Ethereum rising to $10,000.
