ZachXBT accuses Arthur Hayes of using followers as exit liquidity after WLD token sell-off

Blockchain investigator ZachXBT has called out BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes on June 6 for dumping tokens he had publicly promoted. 

He questioned how much “exit liquidity” Hayes’s followers absorbed in the process.

This comes after Hayes exited positions in NEAR, HYPE, ZEC, and WLD in a space of two weeks, each sale following public endorsements that drew retail attention to the tokens.

Which tokens did Hayes sell after promoting?

On May 22, Hayes called Hyperliquid’s HYPE, Zcash’s ZEC, and NEAR Protocol’s NEAR tokens the “Holy Trinity” and opened bullish positions on them.

By June 4, he had sold his entire HYPE and NEAR holdings, posting on X that a forthcoming essay titled “Reality Test” would explain the reasoning. 

He stated that higher energy prices from the Iran conflict, three upcoming “mega AI IPOs,” and a prediction that Trump would pivot against AI ahead of midterms were reasons for his action.

One day later, Hayes dumped his ZEC position, pointing to the Orchard Pool exploit as the catalyst. 

He stated that “the privacy from AI, govt, big tech narrative demands perfection” and that the exploit, while unlikely to have enabled token minting, could not be “formally cryptographically proved impossible.” At that point, he said he was still holding WLD.

However, that hold lasted less than 24 hours.

On June 4, Hayes framed Worldcoin as a bet on SpaceX’s upcoming Nasdaq listing, writing that the IPO was “going to melt people’s faces off.” 

By June 6, he had sold the WLD position too, writing that “this chart is going in the wrong direction.”

How did ZachXBT challenge Hayes?

ZachXBT’s post highlighted all four exits. The blockchain investigator directed a question to Hayes, asking him, “How much exit liquidity was created from your followers over the past couple days?” and listing the tokens in order: “First NEAR HYPE ZEC / Now WLD.” 

Hayes responded to ZachXBT, writing, “I sold to a willing seller at a price.” He added, “Prices could be higher and then I would be called a dumb ass. I just happened to call it right this time as it regards to my trading goals.”

Could Hayes face further backlash? 

The dispute lands at a moment when influencer-driven trading remains one of crypto’s most contentious dynamics. Hayes commands a large following. His HYPE/NEAR exit post alone pulled over 3,300 likes and 536 quote tweets, and his endorsements carry enough weight to move retail sentiment.

The pattern ZachXBT identified is specific: public promotion generates buying interest, and the promoter exits into that demand. 

Each individual trade came with its own rationale, from macro concerns to exploit risk to chart weakness. Taken together over 15 days, the cumulative effect is what ZachXBT characterized as followers absorbing the downside.

WLD was trading at $0.42 as of June 6, according to CoinMarketCap data, down more than 96% from its all-time high of $11.82 set in March 2024.

Hayes has previously built and exited positions publicly, including a long-running bullish stance on ZEC. A Cryptopolitan report from May noted that Hayes had set a ZEC price target of 10% of Bitcoin’s value, which at the time implied a price above $8,000, roughly 14 times where ZEC was trading.

The “Reality Test” essay Hayes promised as explanation for his HYPE and NEAR exits has not yet been published. Observers will be looking forward to whether it addresses the full four-token sequence, and the questions ZachXBT raised.

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