Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, High-confidence rotation from Ethereum It will then be added to a selected group of decentralized finance tokens. On-chain data, later corroborated by his public statements, shows that capital is purposefully concentrated in specific DeFi protocols that he believes are positioned to outperform as liquidity conditions evolve.
Ethereum was sold rather than abandoned
According to blockchain data, over a two-week period, Hayes decreased By selling a total of 1,871 ETH, his Ethereum exposure is worth approximately $5.53 million. This was not an isolated transaction, as the ETH sale was immediately followed by a series of DeFi purchases. Ethereum was used as a funding source He was withdrawing based on his conviction, not his assets.
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This pattern is consistent with Hayes’ broader view. Ethereum’s role in the market. While ETH increasingly serves as collateral for underlying infrastructure and productivity, much of the incremental revenue potential is shifting to protocols closer to yield generation and cash flow activities. Hayes has long signaled this idea, reducing his ETH exposure in August and significantly reducing recent sales. Part of ongoing reallocation It’s not a sudden reversal.
haze later strengthened He publicly stated that his portfolio was switching from ETH to “high-quality DeFi names,” the rationale being that these assets could outperform in an environment of increased fiat liquidity. The speed and adjustment of trades clearly suggests a macro-driven move rather than tactical speculation.
The theory behind buying Pendle, Lido DAO, Ethena and Ether.fi
After selling ETH, Hayes reallocated capital to four DeFi protocols, each targeting a different segment of ETH. Ethereum financial stack. The initial purchase included 961,113 PENDLE valued at approximately $1.75 million, reflecting yield tokenization and exposure to on-chain bond markets. He also acquired 2.3 million LDO worth approximately $1.29 million; liquid staking infrastructure continues to play a central role in Ethereum staking economy.
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Additional allocations were allocated to Ethena and Ether.fi with Mr. Hayes. buy 6.05 million ENA is worth about $1.24 million, and 491,401 ETHFI is worth about $343,000. A few minutes later, the on-chain tracker reported additional purchases, showing that Hayes had doubled his two positions. He added an additional 4.86 million ENA (worth approximately $986,000) and 697,851 ETHFI (worth approximately $485,000), making the total DeFi deployment significantly more than the original allocation.
The structure of these purchases is important. Pendle targets the yield market, Lido anchors liquidity staking, Ethena focuses on synthetic dollar mechanics, and Ether.fi Earn new restaking yields. Together, these create solid exposure to yield, capital efficiency, and infrastructure-level deployment. story-driven trading.
Hayes’ actions underscore a consistent message. Ethereum remains the base layerbut he sees the strongest risk-adjusted opportunity in DeFi protocols that actively convert ETH into a productive return-linked asset.
Featured image created by Dall.E, Charts from Tradingview.com

