Arthur Hayes Adds Crypto Exposure Ahead of Anthropic’s Expected Nasdaq Debut

Arthur Hayes, the co-founder of cryptocurrency derivatives exchange Bitmex, is increasing exposure to crypto before Anthropic’s expected stock-market debut next week. Bitcoin.com reports that the former BitMEX CEO sees the period around the listing as an opportunity to add risk, describing his stance as near-term optimism rather than a broader change in outlook.

Cryptopolitan provides additional detail, reporting that Hayes is sizing the positions between small and medium and intends to close them quickly. The same account places the move roughly a week after Maelstrom, Hayes’s investment operation, had vowed to sit out, presenting the latest allocation as a change from that earlier stance. Neither outlet identifies a specific token in the reported positions. Bitcoin.com connects Hayes’s decision to previous comments about potentially heavy artificial-intelligence spending and the possibility of a government rescue. Those concerns underpin the reported view that a corporate listing or related capital flows could create opportunities for crypto. Cryptopolitan, by contrast, emphasizes position scale and speed, underlining that Hayes is treating the exposure as a tactical trade. The broader crypto market was moving in the opposite direction when the reports were prepared. Total market capitalization stood at $2.42 trillion, the overall market was broadly lower, and Bitcoin was down 4.80% over 24 hours. The Fear & Greed index registered 20, which places sentiment in the Extreme Fear category. The supplied live-data snapshot also shows Optimism at $0.094982, down 2.03% over 24 hours and 6.63% over seven days, with a market capitalization of $217.58 million. The available coverage does not connect Hayes’s reported allocation to Optimism or any other named coin, so the figures provide market context rather than evidence of which asset he bought. The development matters because Hayes’s positioning adds a prominent crypto-industry voice to expectations surrounding a high-profile AI-company listing. His reported willingness to exit quickly, together with the earlier Maelstrom decision to sit out, makes the change notable without establishing its scope. What remains to be watched is whether Anthropic confirms the expected Nasdaq timing and whether Hayes identifies the crypto assets, position sizes, or exit conditions behind the added exposure.