How much money does Arthur Hayes, the "big sucker" who predicts every day and advocates every day, really have?

This article is from: Arkham; original author: 0xKira

Compiled by | Odaily Planet Daily; Translator | Azuma

Editor’s note: Arthur Hayes, known as “Little Black”, has made many market predictions, but do you know how much money he actually has?

On September 10, the on-chain data analysis firm Arkham speculated on Arthur Hayes' net worth by tracking his address and estimating other assets, potentially shedding light on the mystery of Arthur Hayes' financial status.

The following is the original content from Arkham, compiled by Odaily Planet Daily. Some content has been omitted for readability.

Arthur Hayes Personal Information (familiar readers may skip)

Arthur Hayes is the co-founder and former CEO of the cryptocurrency derivatives exchange BitMEX.

BitMEX was launched in November 2014, and prior to that, Arthur Hayes worked as a stock derivatives trader at Deutsche Bank and Citibank's Hong Kong branch. He used his expertise in derivatives to design what has become the industry standard, the Perpetual Swap, a key innovation that allowed BitMEX to quickly establish a dominant position in the early stages of the industry.

For years, Arthur Hayes has become an important voice in the crypto space with his sharp market analyses and often provocative articles, despite having been embroiled in controversy multiple times himself.

In 2022, Arthur Hayes and the other co-founders of BitMEX were convicted of violating the Bank Secrecy Act, with Hayes himself sentenced to 6 months of house arrest, 2 years of probation, and a 10 million dollar fine. However, in March 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump officially announced their pardons.

Speculation on Arthur Hayes' Net Worth

During the cryptocurrency bull market in 2021, the media speculated that Arthur Hayes' net worth had reached the billion-dollar level. However, on-chain data shows that the peak assets in Arthur Hayes' public address were “only” about 88 million dollars, which is far from the billion scale.

Arthur Hayes' net worth composition is far more than verifiable on-chain holdings (approximately $57 million at the time of writing); the speculation about his “billionaire” status may stem more from his position as the founder of BitMEX.

To calculate Arthur Hayes's true net worth, it is necessary to assess BitMEX's current valuation and Arthur Hayes's remaining equity in the trading platform. Referring to the valuations of similar cryptocurrency trading platforms, and combining the current trading volume with the historical valuation of $3.6 billion when the trading volume exceeded a trillion in 2019, BitMEX's enterprise value is conservatively estimated at $500 million.

Arthur Hayes's shareholding in BitMEX is unknown, but as a founder, it must be considerable. He co-founded BitMEX with two others, and assuming equal distribution of shares, he would hold a maximum of 33%. However, after multiple upheavals, it is likely that his shareholding has been diluted.

In addition, Arthur Hayes' family office Maelstrom focuses on venture capital, and he himself is an early supporter of the Ethena token ENA—his ENA holdings may be far higher than the number tracked by Arkham.

Therefore, a conservative estimate of Arthur Hayes' net worth is between 200 million and 400 million dollars.

BitMEX Valuation in 2025

BitMEX was once the dominant player in the global cryptocurrency derivatives market, with a trading volume exceeding $1 trillion in 2019 and a valuation of $3.6 billion. However, as competitors emerged, regulatory pressures increased, and leadership changes occurred, BitMEX's market share significantly declined.

The latest data shows that BitMEX's daily trading volume hovers around $677 million, corresponding to an annual trading volume of approximately $24.7 billion — a decline of about 75% compared to the peak in 2019. If we use valuation and trading volume multiples similar to those in 2019 for value estimation, and make appropriate downward adjustments to reflect its weakened competitive position and various legal obstacles, then BitMEX's enterprise value will be far below $3.6 billion.

Based on this, a reasonable estimate of BitMEX's valuation in 2025 is approximately $500 million. This figure reflects both its still considerable trading volume and the reality that BitMEX is no longer the dominant force it once was. Although it still has profitability and a certain presence in the derivatives trading market, its relative importance in the market has diminished – and the valuation has declined accordingly.

The Mystery of Billionaire Identity

Speculation about whether Arthur Hayes has officially joined the ranks of billionaires has long existed.

At the peak of BitMEX, multiple media outlets, including Vanity Fair, reported in April 2021 that Arthur Hayes had become one of the youngest billionaires in the cryptocurrency space, with his holdings in BitMEX likely bringing him enormous profits during the platform's golden period — in 2019, BitMEX's trading volume surpassed $1 trillion, capturing 57% of the cryptocurrency derivatives market, outpacing competitors like Deribit and CME.

Arthur Hayes is also known for holding a substantial amount of Bitcoin and Ethereum, although the exact figures have never been made public. In 2023, Arthur Hayes also established a family office called Maelstrom and personally serves as the Chief Investment Officer.

In summary, there was a lot of speculation about Hayes' net worth in 2021, with widespread reports suggesting that it had exceeded $1 billion during the peak of the bull market. However, due to the privacy of his financial status and the volatility of his personal crypto holdings, many claims about his net worth are difficult to verify.

Bright Card ETH Whale

Arkham Intelligence and other on-chain analysis tools have repeatedly identified Arthur Hayes as an ETH whale.

Latest data shows that Arthur Hayes purchased 1,750 ETH at the beginning of August 2025, valued at approximately 7.43 million USD, in addition to the 4,424 ETH he already held. This new purchase brings his total holdings to 6,174 ETH, worth over 26.5 million USD at current market prices. Furthermore, Arthur Hayes also holds EtherFi's EETH and WEETH products, valued at 18.7 million USD, which makes ETH and ETH staking products account for slightly more than 80% of his traceable on-chain net assets.

Arthur Hayes has also heavily invested in Hyperliquid (HYPE), Ethena (ENA), Lido (LDO), and Pendle (PENDLE), with a total value of approximately 9 million USD.

Arthur Hayes has been a vocal supporter of Ethena (ENA). Ethena is a synthetic dollar and yield-generating protocol that has garnered significant attention in 2024 and 2025. Arthur Hayes is an early investor in the project and frequently writes about its potential to fundamentally change stablecoin design and on-chain liquidity. Arthur Hayes' verifiable ENA holdings are valued at $3.9 million, but he may also hold a substantial amount of unverified ENA.

Non-Crypto Asset Holdings

Although most of Arthur Hayes' wealth is concentrated in the cryptocurrency space, he is also known for participating in other alternative investments.

In a video interview in 2025, Arthur Hayes revealed that he recently invested in a stem cell company with clinics in Mexico and Bangkok, and mentioned that he is a regular visitor to the institution. Arthur Hayes has also joined the company's board of directors, but did not disclose the specific name of the enterprise.

There is very little public information about Arthur Hayes's non-crypto assets. However, in an article on the BitMEX blog at the end of 2024, he mentioned that besides crypto assets and equity in crypto companies, he prefers to hold gold (ideally stored in a vault).

• Odaily Note: In a recent interview with Arthur Hayes, he revealed that he bought a lot of gold bars.

Change in Net Asset Trajectory

Due to Arthur Hayes's assets being mostly concentrated in cryptocurrencies and related businesses, his net worth has consistently been highly synchronized with the ups and downs of the crypto market since he became involved with BitMEX in 2014. His wealth likely saw significant growth during each bull market — in 2017, with Bitcoin and Ethereum hitting new highs and BitMEX dominating daily trading volume, his assets experienced exponential growth for the first time; during the comprehensive bull market in 2021, driven by quantitative easing and interest rate cuts, Arthur Hayes's wealth valuation may have surpassed $1 billion, with the surge in his net worth primarily coming from trading fee income from BitMEX and the appreciation of his major allocations in BTC and ETH.

From 2021 to 2022, the accusations under the Bank Secrecy Act and the subsequent fines related to BitMEX posed significant setbacks for Arthur Hayes. The hefty financial penalties and his resignation as CEO considerably weakened Arthur Hayes's ability to generate cash flow from exchange operations. Nevertheless, his substantial holdings in BTC and ETH continue to maintain the correlation between his net worth and cryptocurrency prices, a relationship that is likely to drive the value of his portfolio up again during the bull market in 2024-2025.

Conclusion

Arthur Hayes's cryptocurrency career epitomizes the unique financial opportunities and intense volatility characteristic of this industry. Starting as a derivatives trader, Arthur Hayes quickly gained global recognition by founding BitMEX and promoting perpetual contracts. Despite facing legal turmoil, including a conviction under the Bank Secrecy Act and hefty fines, he continues to maintain his influence in the industry through sharp market commentary and his publicly acknowledged status as a whale.

Considering his on-chain verifiable holdings, BitMEX equity, Maelstrom fund, and the potentially unverified ENA tokens that a main supporter might hold, Arthur Hayes' net worth is estimated to be between 200 million and 400 million dollars. It should be noted that this valuation is based on a conservative estimate of BitMEX's enterprise value in 2025 and the calculation of its remaining equity. Furthermore, although Arthur Hayes' verified on-chain holdings are “only” 57 million dollars, there may be unidentified wallet addresses that further increase his total net worth.