Why Arthur Hayes Is Betting on the “Most Hated L1”

Arthur Hayes (former BitMEX CEO and current CIO of Maelstrom) has made some bold bullish calls on Ethereum, suggesting it could reach $10,000. He shared a chart on X with a potential reversal point, suggesting that ETH could skyrocket. At the moment, Ethereum is sitting at around $2784.

This isn’t the first time Hayes has been talking optimistically about Ethereum, especially in recent months. In late May, he called Ethereum the “most hated Layer-1”, saying that it’s usually best to be in the most hated asset at the turn of the cycle. Hayes then predicted that at the very least, ETH could reach a new all-time high this year.

Why Hayes is so bullish on ETH

Before, he mentioned a wider shift away from US Treasuries, where gold and Bitcoin are serving as safe assets, while ETH offers high beta gains amid rising liquidity and capital controls. With central banks printing more, capital will likely chase assets like ETH after holding back in previous cycles.

As for Ethereum itself, the Pectra upgrade in May triggered a rather big ETH surge of 50% and more, which put the spotlight on the protocol’s long-term practical applications.

Whales are accumulating ETH

At the start of this month, interesting reports popped up regarding Ethereum’s performance in June. For instance, wallets categorized as accumulation addresses (non-exchange wallets with negligible outflows) increased their Ethereum holdings from 16.73 million ETH to 22.75 million ETH, which represents a 36% rise.

Also, liquid staking climbed nearly 1 million ETH, from 34.54 million to 35.56 million ETH.

Despite the current subdued price action, the combination of these indicators shows strong institutional belief, while on-chain data suggests that there may be a notable rally on the horizon.

Ethereum’s recent developments

Last week, Ethereum core developer Zak Cole formed the Ethereum Community Foundation to “do what the [Ethereum Foundation] won’t.” It’s focused on promoting Ethereum’s value through burn programs, real-world asset tokenization, and transparent institutional engagement, with the objective of reaching ETH at $10,000.

On-chain data, institutional inflows, and technical momentum collectively point to Ethereum entering a strong accumulation phase, and all of this just might propel the next price surge.