CoinDesk
Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX and chief investment officer of family office Maelstrom, said on Friday he sold the firm's entire stake in Worldcoin — less than 24 hours after publicly saying Maelstrom would keep holding the token. He posted the exit on X alongside a chart of SpaceX stock sliding, with the line "Dumped $WLD. I'm out. See y'all at the clerb." Worldcoin dropped about 10% in the 24 hours after the tweet and as much as 20% on the move, with a notable leg down immediately after his announcement.
Why it matters
Hayes framed Worldcoin as a liquid proxy for SpaceX shares, which retail cannot easily buy and which do not begin trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX until June 12. The price he reacted to was a pre-listing quote on Hyperliquid that has fallen more than 50% in recent days, weakening the AI trade that Worldcoin was meant to ride. The catch: Worldcoin is Sam Altman's eye-scanning identity project, not an Elon Musk venture — the two run rival AI labs — so the link ran entirely through market narrative rather than through the issuers themselves. Hayes had just sold the firm's Zcash, blaming a flaw in its Orchard privacy pool, and said he would rebuy higher if he turned out to be wrong. Worldcoin, he said a day earlier, he was keeping while waiting for "Lord Elon" to lift the price.
Market impact
Worldcoin had been bucking a market-wide downturn with a 70% gain over the prior month, but that lead narrowed sharply as the broader selloff hit. Bitcoin briefly fell below $60,000 overnight before rebounding to about $61,000 in Saturday Asian trading, recovering after Friday's strong U.S. jobs report repriced the rate path and hammered the Nasdaq 100 by roughly 5%. Hayes remains a market-moving voice in crypto, and a top-tier fund publicly reversing a 24-hour-old buy thesis is the kind of signal that accelerates the unwind for smaller holders still positioned on the same AI-proxy trade.
Frequently asked questions
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Why did Arthur Hayes sell Worldcoin?
Hayes said Maelstrom exited its full $WLD position on Friday because a SpaceX pre-listing price he was using as the AI-trade proxy on Hyperliquid fell more than 50% in recent days. He had framed Worldcoin as a liquid stand-in for SpaceX shares that retail cannot easily buy.
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When did Hayes say he would keep holding Worldcoin?
A day before the sale, on Thursday, Hayes publicly said Maelstrom would keep its Worldcoin stake while waiting for Elon Musk to lift the price, shortly after selling the firm's Zcash over a flaw in its Orchard privacy pool.
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Is Worldcoin actually tied to Elon Musk or SpaceX?
No. Worldcoin is Sam Altman's eye-scanning identity project, and the two run rival AI labs. Hayes' link between $WLD and SpaceX ran through market narrative around the AI trade, not through the issuers themselves.
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How much did $WLD drop after Hayes' announcement?
Worldcoin fell about 10% in the 24 hours after the tweet and as much as 20% on the move, with a notable leg down immediately after Hayes posted his exit.
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What is the SpaceX pre-listing price Hayes screenshotted?
It is a private-market quote trading on Hyperliquid, not a real listed stock price. SpaceX is set to begin trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX on June 12, so the chart Hayes reacted to is from the pre-listing market.
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