Arthur Hayes dumps HYPE, NEAR as he warns of AI IPO wave

Written by Zoltan Vardaistaff writerReviewed by Bryan O'Sheastaff editorWritten by Zoltan Vardaistaff writerReviewed by Bryan O'Sheastaff editorArthur Hayes dumps HYPE, NEAR as he warns of AI IPO waveLatest NewsPublishedJun 4, 2026Arthur Hayes said he dumped his HYPE and NEAR holdings after warning markets may peak before September and AI IPOs could drain liquidity.BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes said he dumped his Hyperliquid (HYPE) and Near Protocol (NEAR) token holdings, reversing course after previously assigning aggressive upside targets to both assets.Hayes cited higher energy prices due to the ongoing Middle East conflict, three forthcoming “mega AI IPOs” by the third quarter of 2026 and predictions that US President Donald Trump would turn “anti-AI” to help Republicans win the US midterm elections. “I think highs in mrkts will happen btw now and September,” wrote Hayes in a Thursday X post, adding that it was “time to take profit.”The sales mark a drastic pivot from Hayes, who previously assigned aggressive bullish price targets for both altcoins. He predicted that HYPE could reach $150 by August and NEAR may see a 20x rally by 2027. Blockchain data platform Onchain Lens confirmed that Hayes sold 247,334 HYPE for about $18 million and an unknown amount of NEAR, adding that the sales came shortly after Hayes publicly challenged Multicoin Capital co-founder Kyle Samani to a $100,000 charity bet, claiming that HYPE will outperform every top-10 cryptocurrency by the end of 2026.Source: Arthur HayesHYPE fell 8.4% to $65, while NEAR fell 17.4% to $2.34 over the past 24 hours, according to TradingView data.HYPE and NEAR, one-month chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingViewCould AI IPOs drain crypto market liquidity ahead of Q3 2026?Hayes’s selling comes as investors eagerly anticipate three long-awaited AI company initial public offerings (IPOs), including from ChatGPT creator OpenAI, Anthropic and Elon Musk’s SpaceX.SpaceX reportedly filed confidentially for an IP…

Arthur Hayes dumps HYPE, NEAR as he warns of AI IPO wave

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