BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes acquired $72,800 worth of EthereumFi (ETHFI) tokens just five hours before South Korea’s largest exchange, Upbit, announced its listing. The timing has fueled insider trading allegations among market observers. The listing is significant due to strong, sustained altcoin buying pressure from Korean investors, which data suggests has created a deeper support structure for such assets since 2023.
Arthur Hayes, the co-founder of BitMEX, accumulated 132,730 ETHFI tokens valued at approximately $72,800 shortly before a major listing announcement. The tokens were received from Anchorage Digital roughly five hours before Upbit confirmed adding ETHFI to its Korean Won (KRW) market.
The precise timing has added fuel to an insider trading narrative among commentators. Data also revealed that about a month prior, Hayes moved 2.15 million ETHFI when the token was priced around $0.47.
The latest acquisition occurred near $0.55 per token. As part of standard procedures, Upbit temporarily restricted orders for the new listing, including a brief buy freeze and limits on low-priced sell orders.
Recent data shows KRW-denominated altcoin activity has remained elevated well beyond the last market cycle. More importantly, a persistent buy-side base from large Korean participants has existed from 2023 through 2026.
This means large Korean entities have consistently absorbed retail selling for over three years. The result is a deeper support structure in KRW altcoin pairs than in earlier cycles, alongside higher aggregate trading volume.
This context is crucial for ETHFI because a listing in Korea places the token in one of the market’s most active altcoin venues. The exchange’s strong retail participation and preference for altcoins make such listings particularly significant.
