BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes shifts over $3.5 million from Ethereum into high-quality DeFi tokens, citing improving fiat liquidity and relative outperformance potential as ETH struggles below $3,000.
BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes has executed a major portfolio shift, moving over $3.5 million worth of Ethereum into decentralized finance tokens. The timing coincides with ETH struggling to hold momentum near the $3,000 mark.
According to Arthur Hayes, on X, the strategic repositioning reflects changing market dynamics. "We are rotating out of $ETH and into high-quality DeFi names, which we believe can outperform as fiat liquidity improves," Hayes tweeted on December 20.
On-chain tracking platform Lookonchain confirmed the transactions. Hayes transferred 508.647 ETH valued at approximately $1.5 million to Galaxy Digital on December 19. The following day, another 680 ETH worth $2.03 million moved to exchanges for conversion into DeFi protocols.
The scale and speed of these transactions signal deliberate execution rather than casual portfolio adjustments. Hayes is reallocating capital within the crypto ecosystem, not exiting risk positions entirely.
Ethereum currently trades below the $3,000 psychological level after multiple failed attempts to breach the $3,100-$3,150 resistance zone. The largest altcoin by market cap has entered a consolidation phase, with momentum indicators showing neutral readings rather than directional strength.
Spot Ethereum ETFs recorded seven consecutive days of outflows through mid-December, adding downward pressure. Institutional flows totaled over $600 million in net exits during the week ending December 15, reflecting weakened demand from traditional finance participants.
Hayes Targets High-Yield DeFi Protocols
The BitMEX founder has concentrated his DeFi allocation on three primary tokens. Hayes purchased 1.22 million Ethena tokens valued at $257,500 in a single session, according to Lookonchain data posted on X. "Arthur Hayes just bought 1.22M $ENA 30 mins ago," the tracking account confirmed.
Hayes also accumulated positions in Pendle and received approximately 137,000 PENDLE tokens worth $260,000 from Flowdesk within a 15-minute window, per Nansen data. Both Ethena and Pendle operate in the yield tokenization and liquid restaking segments of DeFi.
The rotation strategy assumes improving fiat liquidity conditions will disproportionately benefit yield-focused protocols over large-cap layer-one networks. Hayes believes DeFi tokens can capture alpha during periods when risk appetite remains elevated but major assets like Ethereum trade sideways.
Several DeFi tokens have already broken short-term downtrends or reclaimed key exponential moving averages, demonstrating relative strength compared to ETH's price action. This technical divergence supports the thesis that capital may flow toward protocols directly monetizing on-chain activity.
#Ethereum #DeFi #ArthurHayes #CryptoTrading #AltcoinSeason
Stay updated on the latest cryptocurrency news on our homepage.
Explore more in Ethereum News Category.
Related reading:
Key Topics
Crypto New Live
admin@cryptonewslive.org
Hayes Dumps $3.5M Ethereum for DeFi Tokens
BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes rotates $3.5M from Ethereum into DeFi tokens as ETH consolidates near $3,000, targeting yield-focused protocols.