Arthur Hayes dumps $8.3M ETH as SharpLink buys $100M – Who’s right about Ethereum?
With opposite whale moves and economic turbulence ahead, the market is now at a critical juncture.
Key Takeaways
Two major Ethereum whale moves, SharpLink’s $100M buy and Arthur Hayes’ multi-token sell-off, reflect diverging market sentiments amid growing macroeconomic concerns. These development also highlight increasing uncertainty around crypto’s short-term trajectory.
In a surprising turn of events, two high-profile Ethereum [ETH] whales’ moves have sent conflicting signals to the crypto market.
Dual whale move shakes Ethereum
On one hand, SharpLink Gaming has doubled down on its commitment towards Ethereum. It has seized the opportunity presented by the latest market correction to acquire over $100 million worth of ETH, likely to lower their average buying price.
Meanwhile, Arthur Hayes, the co-founder of BitMEX and a prominent figure in the crypto world, has been moving in the opposite direction. In fact, according to on-chain tracker Onchain Lens, Hayes offloaded a significant chunk of his crypto portfolio. This included 2,373 ETH (~$8.3 million), 7.76 million ENA tokens (~$4.6 million), and nearly 39 billion PEPE tokens (~$414K). All were sold in just six hours on 01 August.
These contrasting moves by two influential figures underscore the current uncertainty in the market and raise a pressing question about whales’ outlook towards Ethereum’s future.
Community reactions
As expected, the crypto community was quick to react, with a well-known trader remarking,
Although there is ambiguity surrounding the wallet’s ownership, Arthur Hayes lent weight to the speculation by responding directly to Lookonchain’s X post, effectively acknowledging the address as his.
In his response, Hayes pointed to broader macroeconomic concerns as the reasoning behind his recent sell-off.
He pointed to the impending U.S tariff bill expected in Q3, suggesting that markets are already pricing in its impact. Especially following the latest Non-Farm Payroll (NFP) report.
Also, according to Hayes, no major global economy is currently generating sufficient credit to sustain nominal GDP growth. That may be the reason why he believes Bitcoin [BTC]’s and Ethereum’s support levels at $100k and $3k, respectively, are likely to be tested.
He said,
“US Tariff bill coming due in 3Q … at least the market believes that after NFP print. No major economy is creating enough credit fast enough to boost nominal GDP. So $BTC tests $100k, $ETH tests $3k.”
Hayes’s caution stems from the latest U.S Non-Farm Payroll (NFP) report. It revealed a stark drop in job creation, with just 73,000 new jobs being added in July.
Impact on ETH and BTC
Owing to the same, he warned that speculative assets like cryptocurrencies may come under heightened pressure in the months ahead.
When these transactions were made, Ethereum was trading at $3,490.70, down 0.5% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap. However, it’s still worth noting that ETH has rallied an impressive 150% from its April lows.
In fact, Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz also remains optimistic, suggesting that the asset could climb even higher by year’s end. He dismissed suggestions that Ethereum’s recent push towards $4,000 might signal a cycle top.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin was trading at $114,058.18, following gains of 0.45%.
As analysts continue to eye the $113k–$111k range as a critical support zone, a breakdown could spark deeper corrections. On the contrary, holding this level may reinforce bullish momentum.
