The quick buyback suggests Hayes may see renewed upside in ether, contradicting his earlier prediction of a market downturn.
Aug 9, 2025, 3:42 p.m.
Arthur Hayes, co-founder of crypto exchange BitMEX, appears to have reversed course on a major ether (ETH) trade just days after warning of a market downturn.
Last week, data from Arkham Intelligence showed that Hayes sold 2,373 ETH worth around $8.32 million, when the second-largest cryptocurrency was trading near $3,500 and moved into stablecoins.
This weekend, however, he seems to have a change of heart.
Hours ago, data first spotted by Lookonchain showed an address linked to Hayes moved out of $10.5 million in USDC to buy back ether, with the price of the cryptocurrency now hovering around $4,200.
The move comes after Hayes liquidated over $13 million in crypto holdings last week, including ethena
and meme token pepe
.
At the time, he cited U.S. tariffs and weaker-than-expected jobs data as headwinds for crypto, predicting bitcoin could test $100,000 and ether could revisit $3,000.
Yet Hayes’ quick buyback suggests he may see renewed upside in ether. Hayes seemingly confirmed the acquisition of ETH in a post on X, saying he “had to buy it all back” while sharing an ether price chart.
Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.
Francisco Rodrigues
Francisco is a reporter for CoinDesk with a passion for cryptocurrencies and personal finance. Before joining CoinDesk he worked at major financial and crypto publications. He owns bitcoin, ether, solana, and PAXG above CoinDesk’s $1,000 disclosure threshold.
AI Boost
“AI Boost” indicates a generative text tool, typically an AI chatbot, contributed to the article. In each and every case, the article was edited, fact-checked and published by a human. Read more about CoinDesk’s AI Policy.
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