Recently, legendary trader Arthur Hayes has once again attracted market attention. According to on-chain data monitoring, he transferred 682 ETH into mainstream CEXs, which is valued at approximately $2 million at current prices. This move is widely interpreted by the market as a potential sell signal and further reinforces the market expectation that “Arthur Hayes is betting on DeFi and temporarily bearish on ETH.”
The on-chain analysis platform Lookonchain revealed that Arthur Hayes has been systematically reducing his ETH holdings recently and shifting funds into yield-oriented DeFi tokens. Data shows that he has previously sold about 1,871 ETH, worth approximately $5.53 million, and allocated the proceeds into DeFi project tokens such as ENA, PENDLE, and ETHFI. In the past week, Hayes has invested several million dollars into Ethena, Pendle, and ether.fi ecosystems, demonstrating a high level of confidence in DeFi yield models and protocol tokens.
From the fund flow perspective, Arthur Hayes has recently transferred large amounts of ETH multiple times to Galaxy Digital and Flowdesk. During the period from December 19 to 20 alone, the related transfers exceeded $3.5 million. This ongoing ETH outflow is regarded as one of his core strategies of “selling Ethereum and reallocating into DeFi.” Hayes has also publicly stated that, against the backdrop of marginal improvement in fiat liquidity, high-quality DeFi projects have the potential to outperform mainstream cryptocurrencies.
Under this bearish signal, Ethereum’s price has continued to come under pressure. As of now, ETH is trading below $3,000, around $2,900. Some technical analysts point out that if ETH cannot effectively reclaim the critical resistance level of $3,000, there is a short-term possibility of further decline into the $2,800 range.
Moreover, the market selling pressure is not solely from Arthur Hayes. A large Ethereum asset management firm, ETHZilla, recently sold over 24,000 ETH to repay loans, further intensifying downward pressure on ETH. Overall, ETH is currently in a phase of capital rotation and sentiment battles, and Hayes’ shift towards DeFi may have become an important market indicator for observing Ethereum’s medium-term trend.
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