Arthur Hayes challenges Multicoin Capital founder to bet $100,000 on HYPE price

A public feud between two prominent crypto investors has escalated into a six-month price bet proposal.

BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes challenged Multicoin Capital co-founder Kyle Samani to a $100,000 bet on HyperLiquid’s future performance. $HYPE token.

The proposal was posted to X on February 8, 2026, after Hayes reposted it and responded to Samani’s sharp criticism of the project.

Based on the terms outlined by Mr. Hayes, bets will run from 00:00 UTC on February 10th to 00:00 UTC on July 31st, 2026. During this period, Hyperliquid ($HYPE) should outperform altcoins with a market cap of over $1 billion on CoinGecko.

Samani can select comparison tokens. The loser will donate $100,000 to a charity of the winner’s choice. The exchange comes as HyperLiquid and its tokens continue to gain traction among derivatives traders despite market-wide pressure.

Disputes over Hyperliquid’s structure and leadership

The bet follows weeks of criticism from Samani, who has repeatedly questioned Hyperliquid’s design and governance.

Samani said in a recent post that the platform’s code is not fully open source, relies on a permissioned distribution model, and is led by founders who left their home countries to launch their businesses. He also accused the project of enabling criminal activity and called it fundamentally flawed.

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Mr. Hayes denied these claims and framed the argument from a market perspective. He claimed: $HYPE is a really weak asset, so it should not be able to outperform other large tokens over time. If it succeeds, he said, critics should reconsider their views.

The controversy gained attention after analyst John Charbonneau favorably evaluated HyperLiquid’s trade execution compared to traditional exchanges such as CME. The comments helped reignite the debate over whether new on-chain derivatives platforms can compete with existing exchanges.

As of this writing, Samani had not publicly confirmed whether he would accept the bet.

Haze purchases and accumulation linked to multicoins

The bet gained attention in part because of Hayes’ recent acquisition activity. According to on-chain data, Hayes spent approximately $1.91 million to acquire 57,881 pieces of data in early February 2026. $HYPE token. His total holdings increased to approximately 131,807 tokens, with a value of approximately $4.3 million at the time.

These acquisitions, made after the divestitures of PENDLE, ENA, and LDO, signal a deliberate transition to Hyperliquid. In September 2025, Hayes sold approximately 96,600 units. $HYPE The token was priced at approximately $5.1 million, securing a profit amid concerns about token unlocking and competition. His recent accumulation shows renewed confidence in the project.

Additionally, wallet data shows that addresses linked to Multicoin began accumulating in late January 2026. $HYPE. According to the report, over 87,100 ETH was exchanged for approximately 1.35 million ETH $HYPE It acquired tokens worth over $40 million at the time through intermediaries such as Galaxy Digital.

This build-up occurred while Samani continued to take critical positions in public, complicating the ongoing debate. However, in early February, Samani moved into an advisory role at Multicoin and stepped down from day-to-day management. Some observers believe this shift may have influenced the fund’s recent position.

For now, Mr. Hayes’ proposed bet represents a rare test of public belief in a market where opinions and money flows often move in different directions. Whether Samani accepts the bet or not, the episode brought new focus to HyperLiquid’s role in the evolving crypto derivatives industry.

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