Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX and Chief Investment Officer of Maelstrom, 
announced on June 4 that he has exited his entire positions in both 
Hyperliquid&#8217;s HYPE token and NEAR Protocol — reversing two of his most 
publicly stated high-conviction long calls — citing five macro and 
geopolitical factors he believes will weigh on risk assets between now and 
early Q3 2026. Related Reading: Smart Money Keeps Buying HYPE Despite Rising 
Market Fear – Price Holds Above $70 Level The exit marks a significant about- 
face for Hayes, who had publicly identified HYPE as one of his two largest 
positions outside Bitcoin earlier this year — alongside ZCash — with a stated 
price target of $150 by August 2026, per reporting of his Consensus Miami 
remarks. HYPE had already delivered returns well above his entry price 
following a 55% weekly surge that pushed the token above $56 before analyst 
Ali Martinez flagged an overheated technical setup at the $59–$60 resistance 
zone. Hayes, it appears, agreed with the diagnosis. HYPE&#8217;s price records 
important losses on the daily chart. Source: HYPEUSD on Tradingview The Five 
Reasons He Cited In the X post, Hayes offered a five-point TLDR ahead of a 
full essay titled &#8220;Reality Test,&#8221; which he said will drop on Tuesday. The 
reasons are specific and macro-driven rather than project-specific — a signal 
that the exit is a portfolio-level risk management decision rather than a loss 
of conviction in either HYPE or NEAR as assets. The first factor is higher 
energy prices driven by the ongoing Iran war and inventory restocking — a 
dynamic Hayes has consistently flagged as a macro headwind for risk assets 
throughout 2026. The second is the pipeline of three mega AI initial public 
offerings he anticipates between now and early Q3, which he expects will 
absorb significant institutional risk capital that might otherwise flow into 
crypto. The third is a prediction that President Trump will pivot to an anti- 
AI political stance ahead of the midterm elections — a move Hayes believes 
would be used to win Republican seats and could create further uncertainty for 
technology-adjacent risk assets. The fourth is a broader view that market 
highs across asset classes will occur between now and September — implying the 
risk-reward of holding leveraged positions into that window is unfavorable. 
The fifth is personal: Hayes said he wants to take profit and enjoy what he 
called a &#8220;two-step in beefa&#8221; — a reference to time in Ibiza — without the 
psychological weight of open positions. What The Exit Signals For HYPE The 
position reversal arrives at a technically sensitive moment for HYPE. The 
token had delivered 130% in year-to-date returns at the time Ali Martinez 
flagged the TD Sequential sell signal and overbought RSI at the $59–$60 
resistance zone — the same area Hayes appears to have used as his exit window. 
With one of the most prominent public bulls now fully out, the near-term price 
action for HYPE will depend heavily on whether the institutional demand 
documented in Hyperliquid&#8217;s Q1 2026 report — $215 million in gross revenue, 
71.5 percentage points of alpha over Bitcoin, four HYPE ETF filings from 
Grayscale, VanEck, 21Shares, and Bitwise — provides sufficient structural 
support to absorb the sentiment impact of Hayes&#8217; public exit. Related Reading: 
XRP Price To See Violent Discontinuous Repricing And $10 Could Only Be The 
Start Hayes was clear that the exit is tactical rather than fundamental. A 
full explanation of his reasoning will arrive in Tuesday&#8217;s essay — and given 
his track record of macro calls, the crypto market will be reading every word. 
Cover image from Grok, HYPEUSD chart from Tradingview

Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX and Chief Investment Officer of Maelstrom, announced on June 4 that he has exited his entire positions in both Hyperliquid&#8217;s HYPE token and NEAR Protocol — reversing two of his most publicly stated high-conviction long calls — citing five macro and geopolitical factors he believes will weigh on risk assets &#8230;

Something Spooked Arthur Hayes Into Dumping HYPE And NEAR — Here Are The 5 Reasons

The decline highlights the volatility of cryptocurrencies and underscores the 
impact of regulatory uncertainty on market stability and investor confidence.
The post Bitcoin drops to $61,000, down 25% this month amid US regulatory 
uncertainty appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

The decline highlights the volatility of cryptocurrencies and underscores the impact of regulatory uncertainty on market stability and investor confidence. The post Bitcoin drops to $61,000, down 25% this month amid US regulatory uncertainty appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Bitcoin drops to $61,000, down 25% this month amid US regulatory uncertainty

Bitcoin&#8217;s decline highlights its vulnerability to macroeconomic shifts, 
aligning it with high-risk assets and impacting future price expectations.
The post Bitcoin drops 50% from all-time high amid market downturn appeared 
first on Crypto Briefing.

Bitcoin&#8217;s decline highlights its vulnerability to macroeconomic shifts, aligning it with high-risk assets and impacting future price expectations. The post Bitcoin drops 50% from all-time high amid market downturn appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Bitcoin drops 50% from all-time high amid market downturn

A Charles Schwab strategist says Bitcoin isn&#8217;t crashing because of Michael 
Saylor&#8217;s sale, it&#8217;s losing the momentum trade to gold, AI stocks, and IPOs.

A Charles Schwab strategist says Bitcoin isn&#8217;t crashing because of Michael Saylor&#8217;s sale, it&#8217;s losing the momentum trade to gold, AI stocks, and IPOs.

Bitcoin isn’t crashing because of Saylor

The U.S. Justice Department said a joint public-private operation disrupted 
more than 1.4 million accounts linked to Southeast Asian scam networks. The 
effort also helped freeze more than $3.8 million in cryptocurrency tied to 
funds stolen from Americans. DOJ Targets Southeast Asia Scam Networks, 
Freezing $3.8M in Stolen Crypto The U.S. Justice Department said it […]

The U.S. Justice Department said a joint public-private operation disrupted more than 1.4 million accounts linked to Southeast Asian scam networks. The effort also helped freeze more than $3.8 million in cryptocurrency tied to funds stolen from Americans. DOJ Targets Southeast Asia Scam Networks, Freezing $3.8M in Stolen Crypto The U.S. Justice Department said it &#8230;

Apple, Meta, SpaceX and Coinbase Join DOJ Operation, Shutting Down 1.4 Million Scam Accounts

Bitcoin&#8217;s 200-week moving average, sitting at around $61,700, is the line the 
market is watching most closely right now. That level has marked the bottom of 
every major Bitcoin bear cycle going back to 2015, and it held again this week 
— at least for now. Related Reading: XRP Already Powers Real Banking Activity, 
Says Evernorth, With More Growth Expected A Classic Bottom Signal — Or Just A 
Pause? The selloff dragged Bitcoin down to around $61,300 before buyers pushed 
the price back up past $64,750, a recovery of more than 5%. Reports say the 
rebound came alongside news that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to a ceasefire, 
though the price action itself was already being shaped by a massive 
liquidation event. Over $740 million in BTC positions were wiped out in a 
24-hour window, according to data from CoinGlass. Long traders took the bulk 
of the hit, with more than $623 million in bullish bets liquidated as the 
price fell. Bear Flag Still Looms Bitcoin&#8217;s weekly chart shows a bear flag 
breakdown still in progress. The pattern points to a potential drop into the 
$50,000–$52,000 range, and the setup has gained weight from rising trading 
volumes on the downside move. BTC has so far failed to reclaim the upper trend 
line of the flag. That failure keeps the bearish scenario technically intact, 
even after Thursday&#8217;s bounce. Some traders are reading the move differently. 
Analyst ZordXBT pointed to the long lower wick on Bitcoin&#8217;s candle as a sign 
that buyers came in hard near the lows. Trader RidaaXBT called for a short- 
term relief bounce toward the $69,000–$70,000 range, arguing that the 
liquidation wave may have cleared out enough near-term selling pressure to 
allow a recovery. $BTC Just like that, BTC dumped to the 61k level, which is 
most likely the local bottom for now. Expecting a relief bounce from here, 
with a potential move back toward the 69k–70k region. https://t.co/q5VGRG2Id1 
pic.twitter.com/83U7H7Phog — Ridaa (@RidaaXBT) June 4, 2026 Not Everyone Is 
Convinced Not all market watchers are buying the optimism. Trader Hitman42.eth 
warned that bulls may be walking into a trap, suggesting the bounce could lure 
in new long positions before another leg down. everyone cheering this $3k 
bitcoin:native bounce is completely ignoring the graveyard they just walked 
over. $600m in longs just got vaporized in 60 minutes flat. we tapped $61k 
right above the february lows and bounced. catching a falling knife after a 
structural flush is… pic.twitter.com/5QpE8Vv8Rc — hitman42.eth (@ihitman42) 
June 4, 2026 The 200-week moving average remains the key dividing line. As 
long as BTC holds above $61,700, the bear flag breakdown is not confirmed. A 
convincing recovery from that level would put $70,000 back in play as the next 
meaningful price target. Related Reading: Ethereum Signals Strength As 
Citigroup Eyes $5.5 Trillion Tokenized Asset Boom Bitcoin has tested the 
200-week average at major lows before — in 2018 and again during the March 
2020 crash — and bounced sharply each time. Whether this week&#8217;s touch of that 
level marks a similar turning point, or just a brief pause before a deeper 
drop, remains an open question. Featured image from Gemini, chart from 
TradingView

Bitcoin&#8217;s 200-week moving average, sitting at around $61,700, is the line the market is watching most closely right now. That level has marked the bottom of every major Bitcoin bear cycle going back to 2015, and it held again this week — at least for now. Related Reading: XRP Already Powers Real Banking Activity, Says &#8230;

Something Spooked Arthur Hayes Into Dumping HYPE And NEAR — Here Are The 5 Reasons

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