bullish

Moon

Angle

Worldcoin

Arthur

BitMEX co-founder and Maelstrom chief investment officer <a href="https://x.com/CryptoHayes" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">@CryptoHayes</a> has shifted his focus squarely onto Worldcoin (<a href="https://x.com/search?q=%24WLD&amp;src=cashtag_click" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$WLD</a>), posting a pointed bullish thesis on X after recently exiting his positions in <a href="https://x.com/search?q=%24ZEC&amp;src=cashtag_click" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$ZEC</a> and <a href="https://x.com/search?q=%24HYPE&amp;src=cashtag_click" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$HYPE</a>.
"We still hold $WLD and are excited for Lord Elon to pump our bags," Hayes wrote, signalling he intends to ride the token through what he sees as a broader AI-driven market event. <cite>The move follows Hayes selling his full $HYPE and <a href="https://x.com/search?q=%24NEAR&amp;src=cashtag_click" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$NEAR</a> positions, marking a sharp turn from his recent public support for both tokens.</cite> His rotation into $WLD has drawn considerable attention from traders watching his next move.
<h2 id="the-ai-ipo-angle">The AI IPO Angle</h2>
<cite>Maelstrom, amplified by Hayes, argues Worldcoin ($WLD) could act as a liquid crypto proxy for the coming AI IPO wave, with a target of $5 by August versus an unlocked market cap near $2 billion and a spot price around $0.52.</cite> The research note, authored by Maelstrom's Lukas Ruppert and titled "WLD Hated Rally," frames the token as an overlooked way to gain exposure to OpenAI-adjacent artificial intelligence upside.
<cite>OpenAI filed its IPO prospectus with the SEC on May 22, targeting a September 2026 debut with a potential valuation of up to $1 trillion. Anthropic followed by filing its own draft prospectus after announcing a fresh $65 billion funding round that valued it at $965 billion.</cite> Maelstrom's case is straightforward: with private AI companies commanding valuations in the hundreds of billions, <cite>$WLD, the only liquid token directly tied to an OpenAI co-founder, trades at a $2 billion unlocked market cap. If even a fraction of the speculative capital chasing AI exposure rotates into $WLD, the impact on a small-cap token would be outsized.</cite>
<h2 id="supply-overhang-and-the-july-unlock-cut">Supply Overhang and the July Unlock Cut</h2>
<cite>The note highlights a short-heavy setup, with $WLD down year-to-date and deeply negative perpetual funding, alongside a $65 million March OTC round (with $25 million locked for six months) and a 43% drop in daily unlocks scheduled for July 24.</cite> Maelstrom describes the current positioning as a "textbook short overhang," arguing that the coming reduction in token emissions could act as a catalyst to unwind that pressure.
<cite>Worldcoin will cut daily $WLD unlocks by about 43% from July 24, reducing daily token emissions from roughly 5.1 million $WLD to approximately 2.9 million $WLD.</cite> On the institutional side, <cite>Eightco Holdings (NASDAQ: ORBS) holds 283,452,700 $WLD tokens, representing approximately 8.3% of circulating supply, making it the largest publicly disclosed institutional holder.</cite>
<cite>Worldcoin's core product is World ID, a biometric verification system that uses Orb devices to scan a person's iris, generating a zero-knowledge proof that confirms they are a unique human without revealing their identity.</cite><cite>As the AI sector continues to evolve and discussions around digital identity gain momentum, Worldcoin remains one of the most closely watched projects at the intersection of artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency.</cite>
$WLD is up approximately 14% in the past 24 hours and is trading around $0.50. The token remains well below its all-time high, but <cite>Worldcoin's latest rally follows a long decline that began earlier this year, with $WLD still far below its all-time high of $11.74 from March 2024, though it has more than doubled over the past month.</cite>
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Always do your own research before making any investment decisions.
Sources: <a href="https://cryptorank.io/news/feed/d9f48-arthur-hayes-worldcoin-wld-moon-to-5-by-august" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">CryptoRank: Arthur Hayes Says Worldcoin Could Moon to $5 by August</a> <a href="https://crypto.news/worldcoin-price-surges-62-as-maelstrom-sees-ai-ipo-trade-in-wld/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Crypto.news: Worldcoin Price Surges 62% as Maelstrom Sees AI IPO Trade in WLD</a> <a href="https://financefeeds.com/maelstrom-just-made-its-boldest-worldcoin-bet-yet/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Finance Feeds: Maelstrom Just Made Its Boldest Worldcoin Bet Yet</a>

Arthur Hayes Is Now All in on Worldcoin...

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