Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX and chief investment officer at Maelstrom, has endorsed a bullish outlook for Worldcoin (WLD), suggesting it could serve as a high-beta proxy for the anticipated wave of artificial intelligence initial public offerings. This thesis hinges on a heavily shorted market position, a potential balance-sheet bid from Eightco, and an upcoming reduction in WLD token unlocks.
Hayes articulated his view in a blunt post on X, stating, “Read it and weep WLD bears. This shitcoin is going to moon … cause AI duh. Don’t mid-curve this shit.” His commentary referenced a Maelstrom research note titled “WLD Hated Rally,” authored by Lukas Ruppert. The note positions Worldcoin as an undervalued, liquid asset offering exposure to the upside potential of OpenAI-adjacent artificial intelligence ventures. Maelstrom has set a price target of $5 for WLD by August, while advising readers to conduct their own research and clarifying that the note does not constitute financial advice.
Maelstrom Views Worldcoin as an AI Proxy
Maelstrom’s central argument is rooted in the observed market behavior surrounding private technology company listings. The firm highlighted SpaceX’s confidential S-1 filing on April 1, noting a sharp positive reaction in high-beta, space-linked equities following the news.
“When SpaceX confidentially filed its S-1 on April 1, high-beta space names ran,” Maelstrom stated. “Rocket Lab (RKLB) rallied 165%. Anthropic has now filed as well. The AI mega IPOs are coming – and it appears the market has overlooked one of the cleanest proxies.”
This overlooked proxy, according to Maelstrom, is WLD. The firm observes that investors are actively seeking exposure to companies like Anthropic and OpenAI, often through complex Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) that incur substantial fees and imply valuations in the hundreds of billions or even trillions of dollars. In contrast, WLD currently trades with an unlocked market capitalization of approximately $2 billion, a relatively modest figure if the market begins to recognize it as a liquid vehicle for speculative demand tied to AI.
“Capital is aggressively chasing Anthropic and OpenAI exposure,” Maelstrom wrote. “Layered SPVs are charging egregious fees. Valuations are in the hundreds of billions and trillions. WLD trades at $2B unlocked market cap. A small cap, when it comes to AI valuations. Asymmetric upside.”
The Bear Trap Setup
The second component of Maelstrom’s thesis concerns market positioning. The firm contends that WLD has underperformed the broader AI sector despite significant investor interest in AI-related assets. The token’s year-to-date performance has been negative, and perpetual futures funding rates have become deeply negative, indicating bearish sentiment. Maelstrom attributes this weakness, in part, to Worldcoin’s March over-the-counter (OTC) round, which reportedly raised $65 million, including $25 million subject to a six-month lock-up period. Since then, Maelstrom argues, OTC participants have been hedging their exposure, while long-short traders have continued to bet against the token based on its chart performance.
“While the AI bull market has been raging, $WLD is down YTD,” the note stated. “In March, Worldcoin closed a $65M OTC round, with $25M locked for six months. Since then, perp funding has turned deeply negative as OTC participants hedge exposure and L/S traders continue pressing a down-only chart. Textbook short overhang. But those shorts could end in tears.”
This short overhang is central to Maelstrom’s $5 price target. The firm believes that WLD does not require a sustained buying pressure to experience a significant price increase. Instead, a catalyst is needed to force heavily shorted positions to be covered simultaneously as new buyers begin to view the token as an AI-related trade. Maelstrom also points to Eightco Holdings, trading under the ticker ORBS, as a potential accelerant. The note describes Eightco as a treasury holding WLD and OAI digital assets, and reports that the company had approximately $144 million in cash and equivalents on its balance sheet as of May 27.
“Even a modest allocation into WLD could trigger a reflexive loop,” Maelstrom wrote, adding that the daily token unlock rate is scheduled to decrease by 43% on July 24. The firm also noted that ORBS already holds roughly 283 million WLD, representing about 8.3% of the circulating supply, and suggested the company is “just getting started.”
In a subsequent X post, Hayes added, “The SpaceX IPO is going to melt people’s faces off. Holding the WLD through the listing next week.” He also disclosed that he had sold his entire holdings in HYPE and NEAR.
At the time of reporting, WLD was trading at $0.5192.
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