Arthur Hayes is once again sounding the alarm on a greater shakeup in the crypto market after worse-than-expected data from the U.S. Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP) jobs report sparked downside volatility in both traditional and digital markets. Despite his reputation as a long-term crypto bull, Hayes has recently moved assets and cash, preparing for further volatility ahead.

Hayes’ prediction comes as Bitcoin hovers in a turbulent range after a sharp June and July rally that saw the coin blast through $120,000 before encountering resistance and correcting down to below $114,000 in early August.

Hayes, a long-time advocate of Bitcoin’s macro potential, is now warning that short-term headwinds could push BTC below $100,000 and ETH below $3,000 in the aftermath of the latest jobs report, a number that fell well short of expectations and wiped $1.1 trillion from the stock market.

Risk assets sell off as Schiff reinforces ‘Bitcoin is not digital gold’

The crux of Arthur Hayes’ argument is rooted in macro liquidity. In his recent comment, he points to the spike in market volatility following the weaker-than-expected NFP, with risk assets selling off hard as traders rush to reprice interest rate expectations and the path ahead for Federal Reserve policy. For the crypto market, this unfolding reset spells trouble in the short term.

Bitcoin led the crypto downturn but managed to show relative strength compared to altcoins, which were hit even harder. Hayes points out that liquidity is being drained from markets as traders brace for further turbulence. Forced liquidations and margin calls are accelerating the move lower, with $172 million in Bitcoin long positions wiped out across exchanges in a 24-hour window as prices stumbled.

Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff wasted no opportunity to dunk on the number-one digital asset while praising the virtues of gold, commenting:

“Days like today make it clear that Bitcoin is not digital gold. We got bad economic news that sent gold and the Japanese yen up 2.2% and the euro up 1.5%. The NASDAQ went the other way, falling 2.2%. Bitcoin tanked 3%, tracking high-risk assets lower, not safe havens higher.”

Arthur Hayes is repositioning his assets

In the early hours of August 2, Hayes offloaded 2,373 ETH ($8.32 million), 7.76 million ENA ($4.62 million), and 38.86 billion PEPE ($414,700), causing a flurry of comments among the crypto community, most notably, Ethereum bulls who pointed out that Hayes had only recently been advocating for a $10K ETH. One follower commented:

“Classic Arthur shilling and dumping at the same time. Never fails.”

Hayes has been right before, predicting a BTC drop to $70,000 earlier in the current cycle when optimism and leverage were at fever pitch.

In April 2024, as Bitcoin scaled all-time highs and market euphoria peaked, Hayes issued a warning that the tides would soon turn, again calling out warning signs in liquidity, U.S. macro data, and the growing risks from overextended leverage in derivatives markets. Despite offloading ETH showing near-term caution, Hayes’ long-term view remains bullish.

Mentioned in this article

Good Morning, Asia. Here’s what’s making news in the markets:

Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, a daily summary of top stories during U.S. hours and an overview of market moves and analysis. For a detailed overview of U.S. markets, see CoinDesk’s Crypto Daybook Americas.

As Asia begins its trading day,

is trading above $2500 as the U.S. Senate passes the GENIUS Act with bipartisan support.

While the Senate was busy passing the GENIUS Act, Vivek Raman, founder of Ethereum advocacy firm Etherealize, was even busier, making the rounds on Wall Street to explain why ETH is suddenly at the center of institutional finance.

Of course, Ethereum is nothing new. It’s almost a decade old. But finally, in its almost 10 years of existence, Wall Street is starting to pay attention, and they really want to talk about it.

“It’s an amazing job… running around from bank to bank, buy side to buy side, telling them what Ethereum tokenization means, how L2s work, and why it all flows through ether,” he told CoinDesk during an interview in between meetings from the lobby of Wall Street’s Brookfield Place.

As founder of Etherealize, Raman leads the firm’s efforts to educate Wall Street on ETH as neutral collateral and to help institutions tokenize assets and build on Ethereum.

Raman says that Ethereum’s core value proposition, its role as the settlement and collateral layer behind stablecoins and tokenized assets, is finally resonating with institutional investors.

“Every action is powered by ether,” he said. “Eventually, it’s going to be viewed as just as pristine as bitcoin. It’ll be the neutral asset for the whole ecosystem.”

The turning point, Raman says, was regulatory clarity.

“Ethereum’s potential hasn’t been allowed until now,” he said, pointing to the GENIUS Act and broader U.S. policy momentum. “For years we didn’t know if it was a security or a commodity.”

That’s why, despite the headlines around the ETH ETF, Raman says the real unlock for Ethereum came from regulatory clarity, not a ticker symbol.

“The ETH ETF cleared the way by signaling that ether is a commodity, but it still wasn’t explicit,” Raman said. “With clear market structure, the utility of Ethereum gets completely unleashed. Now ETH permeates everything: every tokenized asset transfer, every stablecoin transfer, every Layer 2, they all flow through ETH.”

And while Circle’s IPO and the rise of tokenized treasuries have brought new visibility to the sector, Raman says savvy investors will want more than equity exposure to stablecoin brands.

Circle may get the IPO, but Ethereum gets the flows,” he said. “ETH is what secures this whole ecosystem, and it’s the only neutral, non-censorable collateral that can route value between all these tokenized assets.”

VanEck’s Solana ETF Comes Closer to Listing with DTCC Entry

VanEck’s proposed Solana Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) has been listed on the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) website under the ticker symbol VSOL, a procedural step that typically signals readiness for electronic clearing and settlement.

VanEck’s DTCC listing comes amid growing institutional interest in Solana, following the blockbuster success of spot bitcoin and ether ETFs.

However, just like with those ETFs, Canada has beaten the U.S. in the race to get listed.

Four Canadian issuers, Purpose, Evolve, CI, and 3iQ, launched their Solana ETFs in April, following approval from the Ontario Securities Commission.

OKX Continues European Expansion with Regulated Launch in Germany and Poland

OKX has officially launched regulated crypto exchanges in Germany and Poland, marking a strategic expansion into two of Europe’s most active digital asset markets.

The company now offers spot trading, staking, automated trading bots, and over 60 crypto-Euro pairs to users in both countries, supported by localized platforms with Euro onramps.

“Germany and Poland are key growth markets in the EU, and our license allows us to tailor our products and services to meet the specific needs of users in each country, delivering greater value, enhanced security, and more efficient access to customers,” Erald Ghoos, CEO of OKX Europe, said in a release.

In the release, OKX emphasized its regulatory positioning, highlighting its Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) compliance and ongoing transparency efforts, including 31 consecutive months of Proof of Reserves reports.

Market Movements:

• BTC: Bitcoin briefly dipped to $103,396 amid Israel-Iran tensions before rebounding on continued institutional ETF buying, with low exchange reserves amplifying volatility in a tight trading channel between $103,405 and $107,780.
• ETH: Ethereum traded within a wide range over 24 hours amid Middle East tensions, showing resilience by rebounding from a $2,460 support zone with strong volume, though it continues to face stiff resistance near $2,800.
• Gold: Gold remains rangebound below $3,400 as traders await Fed guidance, with geopolitical tensions, U.S. deficit concerns, and currency debasement risks supporting its long-term uptrend.
• Nikkei 225: Asia-Pacific markets slipped Wednesday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 down 0.15%, as escalating Israel-Iran tensions and reports of Donald Trump weighing a military strike on Iran weighed on investor sentiment.
• S&P 500: Stocks fell Tuesday as the Israel-Iran conflict entered its fifth day, with the S&P 500 closing down 0.84% at 5,982.72.

Elsewhere in Crypto:

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James Wynn, a crypto trader who has been sharing his positions on the X (formerly Twitter) platform, has quickly become popular after his large Bitcoin positions went viral. So far, James has opened multiple billion-dollar positions and has garnered a large following after his admirable win rate. The crypto trader has also managed to cross in 8-figure territory in terms of gains. Two of his latest trades have caught attention, and this report takes a look at how the trader has managed these positions.

Billion-Dollar Bitcoin Long And Short Positions

While James Wynn had been gaining a lot of attention for being a top 5 trader on the Hyperliquid platform in terms of PNL, his most recent round of trades have garnered even more attention. Last week, the crypto trader stunned the community when he opened a $1.2 billion long position, with 40x leverage. With a close liquidation price of $105,179, this seemed to be a risky position, and as the Bitcoin price fluctuated, so did the PNL of the position.

As the Bitcoin price moved lower toward the weekend, the trader would close this billion-dollar long position for a $13.4 million loss. After this, James Wynn quickly flipped directions and placed another billion-dollar perp position, but this time in favor of the Bitcoin price going down.

With an entry price sitting just above $107, this would prove to be a fatal decision for the trader as the Bitcoin price began to move upward. Once again, Wynn was forced to close this massive perp position, resulting in a heavier loss of $15.87 million. In total, the perp trader lost almost $28 million in a 24-hour period, according to Hyperliquid data.

What’s Next For James Wynn?

Following the closure of his short position, James Wynn took to X (formerly Twitter) to address the situation. In the post, he explained that after the massive losses, he was looking at no longer playing at perps anymore. Additionally, he revealed that despite the losses, he remains $25 million in the green after starting with a $3-$4 million initial position.

The post drew speculation from the crypto community, with some arguing that the crypto trader would not just stop trading. This proved to be right as only hours later, Wynn was back on Hyperliquid to place multiple bets on new positions.

The crypto trader initially focused on longing PEPE, which has been one of his most profitable coins to trade, earning him over $25 million in profit. He soon opened another Bitcoin long position with an entry price of $109,733.

At the time of writing, James has closed his PEPE position after almost getting liquidated as the Bitcoin price plummed. The Bitcoin long position remains, but has been reduced by half to $439 million. In total, the trader took a $4.4 million loss already, and his Bitcoin position remains shaky at a -$4.12 million loss.

Chart from TradingView.com

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