BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes transferred $2.5 million worth of Ethereum and ecosystem tokens to institutional market makers including Flowdesk, FalconX, and Wintermute.
Blockchain analyst EmberCN reported the moves and questioned whether Hayes is selling assets to add to his Zcash position.
Hayes has been vocal about his ZEC (ZEC) holdings during the recent privacy coin rally. On November 15, he posted, “This chart is just so strong I aped more. $ZEC” on X and suggested that he increased his position after the token’s 700% surge since October.
Arthur Hayes transfers ETH and ecosystem tokens worth $2.5M
EmberCN tracked multiple transfers from Hayes’ wallet to institutional trading platforms. The BitMEX co-founder moved 520 ETH (ETH) worth $1.66 million, 2.624 million ENA (ENA) tokens valued at $730,000, and 132,000 ETHFI worth $120,000 to the market makers.
Hayes also tested a transfer of 10 LDO (LDO) tokens to FalconX about 50 minutes after the initial transactions. EmberCN noted that Hayes “should continue selling LDO soon.”
According to follow-up reports, Hayes sold 260 ETH worth around $820,000, 2.40 million ENA tokens at $657,000, 640,000 LDO at $480,000, 1,630 AAVE (AAVE) at $290,000, and 28,670 UNI (UNI) at $211,000. The total value of these sales reached roughly $2.45 million.
The analyst questioned whether Hayes is converting these assets into Zcash. “Is this selling coins to add to $ZEC? He’s been crazily pumping ZEC during this period,” EmberCN wrote.
Maelstrom CIO calls ZEC superior to XRP
Hayes has made several bullish statements about Zcash in recent weeks. He declared “ZEC > XRP,” suggesting Zcash could surpass Ripple in market capitalization.
The Maelstrom Fund CIO predicted Zcash could reach between $10,000 and $20,000 per coin. He targeted a ZEC/BTC pair price of 0.2, which would translate to approximately $19,200 for ZEC.
Hayes revealed that Zcash has become Maelstrom’s second-largest liquid holding after Bitcoin. He described Zcash as “Bitcoin with full privacy” and suggested ZEC could reach 10% to 20% of Bitcoin’s value in the current market cycle.
In mid-November, Hayes urged ZEC holders to withdraw tokens from centralized exchanges. “If you hold $ZEC on a CEX, withdraw it to a self-custodial wallet and shield it,” he posted.