Arthur Hayes dumps entire WLD stake hours after saying he'd…

Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX and CIO of family office Maelstrom, sold the firm's entire Worldcoin position on Friday — less than 24 hours after publicly stating he would keep holding the token. "Dumped $WLD. I'm out. See y'all at the clerb," he posted alongside a chart of SpaceX pre-listing prices in freefall. WLD dropped roughly 10% in the hours following his announcement, extending a broader 20% slide on the day.

Why it matters

Hayes had been using WLD as a liquid proxy for the AI trade — specifically as a stand-in for SpaceX shares, which don't begin trading on Nasdaq until June 12. His thesis linked Worldcoin's price to SpaceX's anticipated debut as an AI and connectivity play. When pre-listing quotes for SpaceX on Hyperliquid collapsed more than 50% in a matter of days, the proxy rationale evaporated. The reversal is a sharp reminder that even high-conviction public positions from market-moving voices can unwind inside a single news cycle.

Market impact

WLD had surged roughly 70% over the prior month, bucking a broader crypto downturn, but that gain has now trimmed to around 45% week-on-week. The exit also coincided with a wider risk-off move: Bitcoin briefly fell below $60,000 overnight before recovering to around $61,000, following a strong U.S. jobs report that pushed Treasury yields higher, sank the Nasdaq 100 about 5%, and rattled crypto alongside equities and bonds.