Crypto investment sentiment is shifting rapidly, with notable changes occurring within a 24‑hour period.
Arthur Hayes, co‑founder of BitMEX and chief investment officer of Maelstrom, announced on Friday that his firm had completely divested its holdings of Worldcoin, the token linked to Sam Altman’s eye‑scanning identity platform, despite having declared just a day earlier that it would retain the asset.
“Dumped $WLD. I’m out. See you at the club,” he wrote, accompanied by a chart of SpaceX stock declining. Worldcoin fell 10% over the past 24 hours, with part of the decline driven by his tweet.
A day prior, Hayes had indicated that Maelstrom would retain its Worldcoin position. Earlier, the firm had sold its entire Zcash holdings, citing a weakness in its Orchard privacy pool that diminished its appeal, and Hayes pledged to repurchase Zcash at higher levels should his assessment prove incorrect. He maintained that Worldcoin would remain held, awaiting a price boost from “Lord Elon” — a reference to Elon Musk.
The link is rooted in artificial intelligence. SpaceX is positioning its upcoming listing as an AI and connectivity venture rather than merely a launch vehicle company, suggesting that a robust market debut could boost the broader AI and technology sectors.
Worldcoin, an AI‑centric token that trades continuously, offered the fund a liquid proxy for SpaceX shares — assets that retail investors cannot readily acquire and that are currently unavailable on public markets.
SpaceX trades under the ticker SPCX but will not list on Nasdaq until June 12, meaning the price Hayes referenced reflects a pre‑listing valuation from private markets for a company not yet public. Worldcoin is Altman’s creation, whereas Musk’s involvement is separate, and both entrepreneurs lead competing AI enterprises.
Pre‑listing data on Hyperliquid indicates that SpaceX stock valuations have dropped by over 50% in recent days, reducing the incentive for AI‑focused investors to maintain exposure via this proxy.
Hayes is a prominent, market‑influencing figure in crypto. Worldcoin had risen 70% over the past month, defying a broader market decline, but its gains receded to 45% following a price drop on Saturday.