Hayes Adds 1,332.5 ETH to His Bag, Still Beating the "Crypto Hexagon" Drum 🐸

BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes purchased another 1,332.5 ETH, valued at roughly $2.53 million, on July 20, 2026, according to on-chain data shared by Lookonchain on X. The acquisition extends a buying streak that began earlier this month, when Hayes accumulated approximately 1,939 ETH across two OTC-style transactions, reversing a June sale of 6,000 ETH at a roughly $606,000 loss.

The latest buy comes as Ethereum trades at $1,906, up 1.74% over 24 hours, with a market capitalization above $230 billion. Critics have pointed to Hayes' pattern of publicly endorsing tokens including HYPE, ZEC, and WLD before quietly exiting those positions.

Some market observers are tying the accumulation to a broader narrative of institutional demand. Bitmine Immersion Technologies Chairman Tom Lee argued that Wall Street adoption, rather than crypto-native speculation, is now driving Ethereum's growth, pointing to BlackRock's tokenized BUIDL fund and Robinhood Chain's use of ETH as a gas token. "Unlike the crypto bear market of 2022, Wall Street is building on Ethereum," Lee said.

That thesis is supported by staking metrics. Ethereum's staking ratio reached an all-time high above 33% at the end of June, according to CryptoQuant, with BlackRock's iShares Staked Ethereum ETF locking most of its holdings in staking contracts. Institutions and ETFs held more than 9% of Ethereum's total supply as of last year, a share that has likely grown since then. Standard Chartered's Geoff Kendrick also argued last year that Ethereum treasuries rank among the strongest institutional crypto trades available, citing staking yield and stronger valuations compared with Bitcoin and Solana treasury vehicles.