Cryptocurrency heavyweight Arthur Hayes unloaded a staggering $7 million worth of altcoins on November 16, 2025, executing the massive sell-off in multiple coordinated waves.
The former BitMEX CEO and current Maelstrom executive didn’t mess around, starting with a hefty initial liquidation that included 520 ETH worth $1.66 million, 2.62 million ENA tokens valued at $733,000, and nearly 133,000 ETHFI tokens for $124,000. All within four hours. Efficient.
Hayes wasn’t done. Just an hour later, he launched a second selling spree, dumping another 260 ETH ($820,000), 2.4 million more ENA tokens ($651,000), and 640,000 LDO tokens ($480,000). That’s another $2.45 million gone. Just like that.
Just an hour after his initial dump, Hayes unloaded another $2.45M in crypto assets without blinking.
The altcoin massacre continued with 1,630 AAVE tokens ($289,000) and 28,670 UNI tokens ($209,000) sent packing to institutional traders including Flowdesk, FalconX, Wintermute, and Cumberland.
Blockchain analytics platforms Lookonchain and Nansen AI tracked the movements in real-time. Lookonchain tracked all of Hayes’ token transactions during this massive sell-off period. Nothing stays hidden on-chain these days.
Market conditions likely triggered Hayes’ decision. Bitcoin had crashed to a six-month low of $94,000 the day before, while Ethereum slumped to $3,100. This significant drop reflects the inherent altcoin volatility that often results in sharper price swings compared to Bitcoin’s relative stability.
BTC and ETH spot ETFs weren’t looking great either, with outflows of $492 million and $178 million respectively. Not exactly confidence-inspiring numbers.
Interestingly, Hayes kept his Zcash. The privacy coin surged 26% weekly and an impressive 220% monthly while everything else tanked.
He even added to his ZEC position and publicly praised it over XRP on social media. Clearly, Hayes plays favorites.
This isn’t Hayes’ first rodeo. He pulled a similar move back in August 2025. The guy has a track record of dumping before market pullbacks, which makes his moves worth watching.
This sale directly contradicts Hayes’ previous commitment to investors that he would never take profits again after his August sell-off.
When Hayes sells, people notice.
For now, the crypto world watches and wonders: what does Arthur know that we don’t?
