Hayes-Linked Wallet Keeps Buying
Lookonchain reported that a wallet associated with Arthur Hayes has bought another 1,400 ETH, worth around $2.51 million, adding to his steady accumulation streak, which is in line with a pattern flagged last month, where Hayes-linked addresses scooped up about $5.4 million in ether (following signs of easing tensions in the Middle East).
Hayes, the outspoken co-founder of derivatives exchange BitMEX, has been vocally bullish on ether’s long-term trajectory, arguing that the asset is positioned to benefit from expanding macro liquidity as well as its central role in facilitating collateral across the decentralized finance (DeFi) landscape. Consequently, he floated aggressive year-end price targets for both ETH and BTC, penciling in a price point of $12,000 for the former.
Hayes is not buying alone because a whale operating under the address geministar.eth too bought another 11,142 ETH (about $19.94 million) in a single move, accumulating 32,278 ETH (roughly $57 million) over a 48-hour stretch. Much of the haul was sourced from Binance.
The scale of the purchase, that too over such a short window, seems to suggest the move was deliberate and well-funded rather than based on retail momentum alone.
Smart Money vs. a Soft Market
The accumulation has grabbed eyeballs across the table since ether has massively underperformed bitcoin, frustrating holders, even as whale accumulation climbed toward yearly highs. To this point, Bitcoin.com News recently reported on large buyers stacking ether on weakness, including a whale that accumulated 21,800 ETH in a multimillion-dollar bet on the network’s long game.
That said, the picture is not uniformly bullish because the same onchain data that captured heavy buying recently has also flagged heavy selling with one large holder dumping 20,000 ETH for about $41.18 million in a single hour late last month. Hayes himself has previously unloaded ether and other tokens before re-entering, showing how quickly conviction trades can reverse.
In any case, the weight of these latest flows is indicative of real accumulation; however, whether a couple of moves can create a durable bottom for ETH is still uncertain. What is clear is that, at current prices, the market’s biggest players are still willing to bet big on ethereum.
