Arthur Hayes dumps millions into cryptocurrency Ethena (ENA) after public praise

The cryptocurrency market, known for its volatility and twists and turns, has seen yet another intriguing episode involving a prominent figure: Arthur Hayes, former CEO of BitMEX. Hayes, known for his bold strategies and impactful comments, sparked controversy by selling $8,4 million worth of Ethena’s ENA tokens on the Binance exchange, just hours after praising the project on his social media.

Between November 26 and 28, Hayes accumulated a sizable position of 16,79 million ENA tokens, purchased at an average price of $0,67 per token, for a total investment of $11,21 million. Surprisingly, he decided to liquidate part of his holdings when the token reached $0,7015, pocketing an estimated net profit of $7,7 million.

Despite the sale, Hayes still holds a significant portion of 9,96 million ENA, valued at around $11,7 million, with 7,94 million staked. Considering his remaining assets, Hayes’ total profit from Ethena now exceeds $8,71 million, representing an impressive 78% return on his initial investment.

In a Twitter post, Hayes went on to say afirmar : “I could nitpick a few things, but a very impressive summary of Ethena Labs. If you’re a DeFi protocol and you haven’t integrated USDe or sUSDe, you’re screwed.” The statement, which praised the Ethena project, generated a lot of backlash in the cryptocurrency community.

However, the subsequent sale of his ENA tokens sparked a wave of criticism and accusations against Hayes, with many users accusing him of market manipulation and insider trading.

At the time of publication, Ethena’s price is trading at $1,08, up 7.3% over the last 24 hours. Ethena (ENA) currently has a trading volume of $1.242.707.149, down 14,30% from a day ago and signaling a recent drop in market activity. Despite the recent price drop in the market, ENA is closing the week up 8.6%.

It is worth remembering that ENA was boosted in recent days after the anúncio of a strategic partnership. World Liberty Financial, a DeFi platform backed by President-elect Donald Trump, has announced a strategic collaboration with Ethena Labs. The partnership, announced Wednesday, aims to integrate the sUSDe token — a yield-bearing version of Ethena’s USDe — into World Liberty Financial’s protocol, initially as a collateral asset on its Aave instance.