Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, caught the market’s attention after he executed high belief rotation from Ethereum and into a selected group of decentralized financial tokens. On-chain data, later backed up by his public statements, show a deliberate concentration of capital into certain DeFi protocols that he believes are positioned to outperform as liquidity conditions evolve.
Ethereum was sold, not abandoned
Blockchain data shows that over a period of two weeks, Hayes reduced its exposure to Ethereum by selling a total of 1,871 ETH, valued at approximately $5.53 million at the time of execution. This was not an isolated transaction, as the ETH sale was closely followed by a series of DeFi purchases, indicating that Ethereum was used as a source of funding and not the property he left on conviction.
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This pattern aligns with Hayes’ broader view of The role of Ethereum in the market. ETH increasingly serves as the underlying infrastructure and production collateral, while much of the incremental return potential has migrated to protocols closer to yield generation and cash flow activity. Hayes had already signaled this thinking earlier, reducing exposure to ETH in August, taking a recent selloff part of the permanent redistribution but a sudden reversal.
Hayes later reinforced reasoning publicly, stating that its portfolio rotated out of ETH into “high-quality DeFi names,” based on expectations that those assets could outperform in an environment of improving fiat liquidity. The speed and coordination of trading suggests a clear macro-driven move rather than tactical guesswork.
Thesis Behind Pendle, Lido DAO, Athena and Ether.fi Purchases
After selling ETH, Hayes reallocated capital to four DeFi protocols, each targeting a different segment Ethereum financial stack. Initial purchases included 961,113 PENDLEs valued at approximately $1.75 million, reflecting exposure to the tokenization of returns and fixed income markets on the chain. It also acquired 2.3 million LDOs valued at approximately $1.29 million, positioning itself in current investment infrastructure which continues to play a central role in Ethereum’s Investment Economy.
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Additional allocations went to Etheni and Ether.fi, with Hayes purchase 6.05 million ENA for approximately $1.24 million and 491,401 ETHFI worth approximately $343,000. Minutes later, the chain’s trackers reported subsequent buys, showing Hayes doubling down on two positions. It added an additional 4.86 million ENA worth close to $986,000 and 697,851 ETHFI worth roughly $485,000, bringing the total DeFi deployment far beyond the original allocation.
The structure of those purchases is important. Pendle targets yield markets, Lido anchors staking liquidity, Athena focuses on synthetic dollar mechanics, and Ether.fi it records the yield of putting it back into the making. Together, they make for solid exposure to yield, capital efficiency and infrastructure-level adoption, and not crafts driven by storytelling.
Hayes’ actions underscore a consistent message: Ethereum remains the base layerbut sees the greatest risk-adjusted opportunities in DeFi protocols that actively convert ETH into a productive income-linked asset.
Featured image created using Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com
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