Arthur Hayes Reenters Ethereum Market, Sees Potential for ETH to Reach $20K

Highlights:

• BitMEX co-founder predicts Ethereum could surge to $10K-$20K before this market cycle ends.
• He bought back Ethereum after the market rally, believing its price would continue rising.
• Institutional inflows and ETF demand push Ethereum toward its all-time high.

BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes predicted Ethereum (ETH) could rise between $10,000 and $20,000 before this market cycle ends. In the same interview, he also shared that he prefers Ethereum over Solana (SOL), which shows his clear strategic choice.

Arthur Hayes just admitted he bought back ETH because “the chart says it’s going higher.”

He sees Ethereum running up to $20K this cycle.

When asked $ETH vs $SOL?

He’s overweight $ETH pic.twitter.com/Yd3q1t0aCe

— SamAlτcoin.eth (@SamAltcoin_eth) August 21, 2025

Arthur Hayes Revises Ethereum Outlook After Strong Market Rally

At the start of August, Arthur Hayes decided to offload a large portion of his holdings. He sold more than $8 million in Ethereum along with tokens like PEPE and ENA. He said he sold because he expected a market pullback. Hayes cited President Trump’s tariffs and escalating global tensions as key factors influencing his decision. At that time, he thought Ethereum might fall back to around $3,000.

That outlook, however, shifted almost immediately. Ethereum rallied beyond $4,000 in just days. The rapid surge left Hayes reentering the market, buying back ETH at higher levels. By mid-August, he bought back over 1,700 ETH worth $8M and added altcoins like HYPE and LDO.

Arthur Hayes(@CryptoHayes) bought more $HYPE, $LDO, and $ENA today.

Over the past 5 days, Arthur Hayes has purchased a total of 1,750 $ETH($7.43M), 58,631 $HYPE($2.62M), 3.1M $ENA($2.48M), 1.29M $LDO($1.83M), 184,610 $PENDLE($1.02M), and 420,000 $ETHFI($516.6K).… pic.twitter.com/dyy6nDxTer

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) August 15, 2025

In his recent interview, he shared the reasons behind buying back Ethereum after earlier profit-taking. “I bought back some of the ETH that I sold,” he admitted. “The chart says it’s going higher. So I can’t fight the market. I think ETH goes $10, $20,000 before the end of the cycle.” 

The Maelstrom CIO noted that if Ethereum breaks its all-time high, the path ahead could be wide open for further growth. He also mentioned that crypto firms are actively raising funds to purchase ETH, adding that it becomes even easier once the asset shows strong upward momentum. In his view, the potential upside for Ethereum remains limitless. He linked his outlook to wider macro factors, suggesting that U.S. political and economic conditions could boost risk assets. He believes that any financial asset supported by Trump is likely to see a strong bull run during his time in office.

When asked to choose between Ethereum and Solana, Hayes preferred ETH. He noted both will likely see price increases. Hayes also pointed out the shift in sentiment, from “everybody hated ETH” just two months ago to the current optimism.

Ethereum Continues Bullish Momentum Amid Strong ETF Demand and Institutional Inflows

Ethereum has risen 1% in the last 24 hours, reaching $4,317, according to CoinMarketCap. At the time of writing, it has made a slight recovery and is changing hands at around $4,306. The upward momentum is being fueled by heavy demand for a spot Ethereum ETF, alongside major institutional inflows. 

According to the Strategic ETH Reserve (SER), spot Ether ETFs now hold a total of 6.42 million ETH, valued at about $27.66 billion. These investment products experienced a daily net inflow of 66,350 ETH, increasing their total reserves to represent 5.31% of Ethereum’s circulating supply. Companies such as Bitmine and Sharplink Gaming have together purchased more than 2 million ETH since June, adding weight to the rally. Over the past month, Ethereum has climbed more than 17%, touching a local peak of $4,700 last week and moving steadily toward its all-time high.