Arthur Hayes dumps ETH for $6 million into Pendle, Lido and emerging DeFi tokens

Most of the redistributed funds flowed to Pendle, Lido, Ethena and Ether.fi within minutes of the ETH sale.

Former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes sold a significant portion of his Ethereum (ETH) holdings this week, diverting millions into select DeFi tokens.

The move highlights a calculated shift in strategy from a core blue chip value to what it sees as opportunities for higher growth within the decentralized finance sector.

Hayes cuts exposure to ETH as DeFi takes priority

Blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain reported on December 31 that the co-founder of BitMEX sold 1,871 ETH in the past two weeks before purchasing approximately $4.6 million worth of DeFi-related tokens. The initial purchases include approximately $1.8 million in Pendle, $1.3 million in Lido DAO (LDO), $1.2 million in Ethena (ENA) and approximately $340,000 in Ether.fi (ETHFI).

Minutes later, Lookonchain published a follow-up update with Hayes doubling down on two of those positions. According to the data, he has bought another 4.86 ​​million ENA, worth approximately $986,000, and 697,851 ETHFI, worth almost $485,000, bringing his total redistributed capital to over $6 million.

The trader had already telegraphed this shift earlier this month and posted it to X that was his portfolio rotating out of ETH and into “high-quality DeFi names,” arguing that they could do better if fiat liquidity continues to decline.

This isn’t the first time Hayes has made large-scale portfolio adjustments. In November, he participated in a similar selling event during a market downturn, selling off ETH, ENA, and ETHFI. That activity followed an earlier sale in August, after which he humorously vowed never to take profits again.

Community reaction to the investor’s move has been mixed. While some observers see it as a bullish signal for the select DeFi sector, others have urged caution. A social media user, Junar, responded to the news with a warning: “the same man is selling his assets at a loss, so don’t buy here.”

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Price action paints a mixed picture for DeFi betting

Price data shows why opinions remain divided. According to CoinGecko, ETH is trading around $3,000, roughly flat on the week and up nearly 5% over 30 days, even as it remains down about 11% from a year ago. In contrast, most of the DeFi tokens that Hayes bought have shown recoveries in the short term, but remain deeply submerged in the longer term.

At the time of writing, Pendle was near $2.00, up almost 14% on the week, but down more than 60% year-on-year. Lido’s LDO was around $0.60, with a weekly gain of 11% having done little to offset losses of almost 68% over twelve months.

Meanwhile, ENA is trading around $0.20, having fallen more than 15% in 30 days and more than 75% since last year, while ETHFI is hovering around $0.70, still more than 90% below its early 2024 peak.