Arthur Hayes, the BitMEX co-founder and Maelstrom chief investment officer, publicly backed WLD as renewed enthusiasm around large private-market listings and AI-linked exposure filters into crypto markets. In a series of X posts, Hayes amplified a Maelstrom thesis arguing that Worldcoin’s token could benefit from short positioning, AI proxy demand, and changing token supply dynamics.
Arthur Hayes Backs WLD as AI IPO Buzz Builds
Hayes endorsed the WLD trade in unusually direct language after Maelstrom published a bullish note on X. “Read it and weep WLD bears. This shitcoin is going to moon … cause AI duh. Don’t mid-curve this shit,” Hayes wrote, framing the token as a high-beta way to express the market’s appetite for AI-linked assets.
Maelstrom’s post connected the setup to recent private-market and IPO momentum, citing SpaceX and Anthropic as examples of investor demand for exposure to major technology themes. The fund wrote that when SpaceX confidentially filed its S-1 on April 1, “high-beta space names ran,” adding that Rocket Lab rallied 165%. “Anthropic has now filed as well. The AI mega IPOs are coming – and it appears the market has overlooked one of the cleanest proxies,” Maelstrom wrote.
Hayes later said he planned to hold WLD through what he described as the SpaceX listing next week. “The SpaceX IPO is going to melt people’s faces off. Holding the WLD through the listing next week,” he posted. In a separate X post, Hayes said he had exited his entire HYPE and NEAR positions and would explain the move in an essay titled “Reality Test,” citing higher energy prices, “3 Mega AI IPOs between now and early Q3,” and his view that market highs could occur between now and September.
I just dumped my entire $HYPE and $NEAR position, I will explain why in my essay “Reality Test” dropping next Tuesday.
TLDR:
– Higher energy prices due to Iran war and inventory restocking
– 3 Mega AI IPOs between now and early Q3
– Prediction that Trump goes anti-AI to win…— Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) June 4, 2026
Maelstrom Sees Short Overhang Fueling WLD Rally
Maelstrom’s core argument is that WLD has lagged despite the broader AI bull market, creating conditions for a potential short squeeze if positioning reverses. “While the AI bull market has been raging, $WLD is down YTD. In March, Worldcoin closed a $65M OTC round, with $25M locked for six months. Since then, perp funding has turned deeply negative as OTC participants hedge exposure and L/S traders continue pressing a down-only chart,” the fund wrote.
The note described that setup as a “textbook short overhang,” arguing that hedging by OTC participants and continued short pressure from long/short traders could become fuel for a rally if spot demand appears. Maelstrom also pointed to Eightco, trading under the ticker ORBS, saying the WLD/OAI DAT reported approximately $144 million of cash and equivalents on its balance sheet on May 27. The fund added that ORBS already holds roughly 283 million WLD, or about 8.3% of circulating supply.
Supply dynamics were another part of the Maelstrom thesis. The fund said WLD’s daily unlock rate is set to drop 43% on July 24, a change it believes could strengthen the effect of incremental buying. “Capital is aggressively chasing Anthropic and OpenAI exposure. Layered SPVs are charging egregious fees. Valuations are in the hundreds of billions and trillions. $WLD trades at $2B unlocked market cap,” Maelstrom wrote, calling WLD “a small cap” relative to AI valuations and setting a $5 target by August while adding: “DYOR. Not financial advice.”
Hayes’ public rotation into WLD places the token at the center of a trade tied less to current network fundamentals than to market structure, AI proxy demand, and the timing of expected major listings. For traders, the key questions are whether negative funding and OTC hedging unwind into spot demand, and whether the AI IPO narrative remains strong enough to support another leg higher in high-beta crypto assets.
AI Transparency Note: This article was prepared with the assistance of an AI system based on the sources listed and was reviewed, edited, and approved by a human editor before publication. All quotes, data points, and factual claims are intended to be grounded in the cited source material; however, errors cannot be ruled out entirely.