Arthur Hayes, BitMEX co-founder and Chief Investment Officer of Maelstrom, said Ethereum is his largest cryptocurrency position outside Bitcoin and called it the most hated large-cap crypto, an underpositioning he views as an attractive risk-reward setup. Speaking with Laura Shin on the Unchained podcast on Aug. 20, Hayes tied his bullish case to market positioning and liquidity rather than technology, arguing that U.S. Treasury actions, an eventual Federal Reserve balance-sheet expansion, and similar global policies should inject liquidity that benefits Bitcoin and Ethereum. With ETH up 25% on the week, still below its 2021 all-time high, and liquid enough for institutions to build size, he said underexposed investors could fuel a reflexive rally once momentum builds, potentially revisiting about $4,800 and reaching his $5,000 year-end target after clearing key resistance, including the previously cited break above $3,000. He said the thesis does not depend on Ethereum’s Layer-2 roadmap, Foundation decisions, or tokenomics, though he also sees ETH as a possible security layer for tokenized real-world assets as a secondary point. Separately, he argued investors seeking Bitcoin exposure would generally be better served by spot Bitcoin ETFs such as BlackRock’s IBIT than by Strategy shares.