EthereumFi (ETHFi) is gaining attention after a major exchange listing and a well-timed trade.
Just a few hours before South Korean Upbit announced its ETHFi listing, Arthur Hayes was seen purchasing the token. For context, this list is quite significant given South Korea’s strong retail participation and preference for altcoins.
Hayes and insider trading allegations
Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX and CIO of Maelstrom, accumulated ETHFI shortly before the major listing on Upbit, South Korea’s largest crypto exchange.
per data lookonchainHayes received 132,730 ETHFI (about $72,800) from Anchorage Digital approximately five hours before the exchange confirmed the token’s addition to the KRW market.
The timing, of course, fueled the insider trading narrative.
Earlier this year, it distributed over $3.4 million in multiple DeFi tokens, including ETHFI. The data also emerged About a month ago, Hayes moved 2.15 million ETHFI at around $0.47, which may be previous distribution activity.
The latest purchase occurred at around $0.55 per token.
As part of Upbit’s standard listing checks temporarily restricted orders. This included a short buying freeze and limits on low-priced sell orders, while enforcing only limit trading in the first phase.
A look at the big picture
Latest data revealed He said altcoin activity in KRW remained high well beyond the last cycle, even after excluding top altcoins. Ethereum (ETH), Ripple’s XRP (XRP), Binance Coin (BNB)And Solana (Sun).
More importantly, there is a persistent buy-side base from 2023 to 2026, and there is stronger absorption in Korean stock markets.
This essentially means that major Korean participants have been steadily moving to the other side of retail for over three years. This resulted in a deeper support structure and higher total trading volume in the KRW sub-pairs compared to previous cycles.
This is important for ETHFI because a listing in Korea places the token in one of the market’s most active altcoin venues.
Final Summary
- Arthur Hayes is under fire for insider trading after Upbit listed ETHFI hours after he accumulated it.
- The pressure to buy Korean altcoins since 2023 could mean stronger support for new listings like ETHFI.
