Arthur Hayes Cashes Out Of Worldcoin Days After Backing Sam Altman’s Token

Arthur Hayes pushed back on criticism for selling WLD, saying he simply sold to a willing buyer and had successfully achieved his trading objective.

• Arthur Hayes said he sold his entire Worldcoin position just days after publicly backing the cryptocurrency and highlighting a $10 price target from his firm, Maelstrom.
• The BitMEX co-founder posted "Dumped $WLD. I'm out" as the token pulled back from recent highs reached during this week's rally.
• On-chain investigator ZachXBT accused Hayes of creating exit liquidity for followers after a string of high-profile calls on WLD, HYPE, NEAR and ZEC.

BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes said on Thursday that he had sold his entire position in Worldcoin (WLD), days after publicly calling for a bull market in the token and highlighting a $10 price target from his investment firm, Maelstrom.

"This chart is going in the wrong direction. Dumped $WLD. I'm out.” Hayes wrote on X alongside a chart showing the token's recent decline. “See y'all at the clerb," he said. 

The sale came just days after Hayes showed support for Worldcoin, the cryptocurrency tied to Sam Altman's digital-identity project. Earlier this week, Hayes, who also acts as the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of Malestorm, had posted "$WLD = $10" as the token rallied to its highest level since January. He had also outlined a $10 price target for the cryptocurrency.

Worldcoin's price was down over 21% over the past 24 hours. On Stocktwits, the retail sentiment around WLD stayed in the ‘extremely bullish’ zone, while chatter around it stayed in the ‘extremely high’ levels over the past day.

ZachXBT Questions 'Exit Liquidity'

The Worldcoin sale drew criticism from on-chain investigator ZachXBT, who questioned whether Hayes' public endorsements had encouraged followers to buy before his exit.

"How much exit liquidity was created from your followers over the past couple days?" ZachXBT wrote on X on Saturday. "First NEAR HYPE ZEC. Now WLD."

Hayes, however, pushed back on the criticism, responding that he had simply "sold to a willing seller at a price" and argued that the trades had achieved their intended objectives.

Hayes' Recent Trade Liquidations

Hayes' exit from Worldcoin completes the liquidation of several high-profile cryptocurrency positions he had publicly discussed.

Before the WLD sale, Hayes disclosed exits from Hyperliquid (HYPE) and Near Protocol (NEAR). Soon after, he announced that he had sold his entire ZEC position, citing concerns following a reported exploit involving a privacy-focused mining pool. “The Holy Trinity is dead,” he added. Earlier this month, he threw a $100K bet on HYPE, citing his conviction that it would outperform the top ten cryptocurrencies by the end of the year. 

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com<