Tom Lee’s BitMine Buys $92M ETH as Arthur Hayes Rotates $5M Into DeFi

The firm has moved about $1 billion worth of Ether into staking this week alone. This massive deposit is already affecting Ethereums validator system.

Traders and analysts are now talking about a potential supply squeeze with the activity spotlighting the growing interest in institutional staking.

Arthur Hayes Dumps $5 Million Ethereum to Load Up on DeFi

Amid the latest move of BitMine, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes moved his focus from Ethereum to DeFi tokens. According to Lookonchain, he sold 1,871 ETH, worth $5.53 million, and used the money to grow his DeFi holdings.

His purchases included 961,113 PENDLE valued at $1.75 million, 2.3 million LDO worth $1.29 million, 6.05 million ENA totaling $1.24 million, and 491,401 ETHFI worth $343,000.

Arthur Hayes Latest Transactions | Source: Lookonchain

Arthur Hayes has not only sold Ethereum but also moved $2.52 million off exchanges into DeFi tokens.

DeFi tokens and stablecoins now make up more than 60%, while his Ethereum holdings have dropped sharply.

Within his DeFi allocation, PENDLE dominates. Nearly half of his DeFi portfolio—48.9%—is in PENDLE. Hayes move highlights strong confidence in the token and the future of decentralized finance.

The BitMEX co-founders latest moves are part of a larger strategy to invest in undervalued DeFi assets.

Tokens such as PENDLE, LDO, and ETHFI have faced steep declines recently. Despite this, Hayes remains optimistic and sees growing fiat liquidity as a key factor supporting their potential rebound.

BitMine in Focus as ETH Sell-off is Cause for Concern

Arthur Hayes latest portfolio update has generated excitement in the DeFi space while at the same time, his Ethereum sell-off has caused concern. This, along with the continuing buy of BitMine has fueled discussions among traders.

ETH remains below the key $3,000 level, and growing selling pressure is fueling negative sentiment.

This isn‘t the first time Hayes has moved away from Ethereum. As per a recent report, the BitMEX founder transferred 682 ETH to Binance. After that, he continued swapping ETH for DeFi tokens like PENDLE, showing he’s placing bigger bets on decentralized finance.

Hayes also thinks that as fiat money becomes easier to use in crypto, DeFi projects will benefit more than big cryptocurrencies like Ethereum. This idea is making some people worry about Ethereums short-term future.

Meanwhile, the crypto market is ending the 2025 year on a positive note after recording a slight 2% uptick over the last 24 hours on the last day of December. Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Solana led the gains following weeks of little movement.