A public feud between two high-profile crypto investors has turned into a proposed six-month price wager.

BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes has challenged Multicoin Capital co-founder Kyle Samani to a $100,000 bet over the future performance of Hyperliquid’s HYPE token. 

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

Under the terms outlined by Hayes, the bet would run from 00:00 UTC on Feb. 10 through 00:00 UTC on July 31, 2026. During that period, Hyperliquid (HYPE) would need to outperform any altcoin with a market capitalization above $1 billion on CoinGecko. 

Samani would be allowed to select the comparison token. The loser would donate $100,000 to a charity chosen by the winner. The exchange comes as Hyperliquid and its token remain in focus among derivatives traders, even as the wider market trades under pressure.

Dispute over Hyperliquid’s structure and leadership

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

In recent posts, Samani said the platform’s code is not fully open-source, relies on a permissioned distribution model, and is led by a founder who left his home country to launch the business. He also accused the project of enabling criminal activity and described it as fundamentally flawed.

Hayes rejected those claims and framed the debate in market terms. He argued that if HYPE is truly a weak asset, it should fail to outperform other large-cap tokens over time. If it succeeds, he said, critics should reconsider their views.

The dispute gained traction after analyst Jon Charbonneau praised Hyperliquid’s trading execution, comparing it favorably with traditional venues such as CME. That commentary helped re-ignite debate over whether newer on-chain derivatives platforms can compete with established exchanges.

As of press time, Samani had not publicly confirmed whether he would accept the wager.

Hayes’ purchases and Multicoin-linked accumulation

The wager has drawn attention partly because of Hayes’ recent buying activity. According to on-chain data, Hayes spent approximately $1.91 million in early February 2026 to acquire 57,881 HYPE tokens. His entire holdings increased to about 131,807 tokens, which at the time was worth about $4.3 million. 

These acquisitions, which came after the sales of PENDLE, ENA, and LDO, indicate a deliberate shift toward Hyperliquid. In September 2025, Hayes had sold about 96,600 HYPE tokens for roughly $5.1 million, locking in profits amid concerns about token unlocks and competition. His recent accumulation marks a renewed vote of confidence in the project.

Additionally, wallet data indicates that in late January 2026, addresses linked with Multicoin began accumulating HYPE. Reports indicate that more than 87,100 ETH was swapped for around 1.35 million HYPE tokens, worth over $40 million at the time, through intermediaries such as Galaxy Digital.

This accumulation took place while Samani continued to take a critical public stand, which complicated the ongoing discussion. However, in early February, Samani transitioned into an advisory position at Multicoin, resigning from daily management. Some observers believe this transition may have influenced the fund’s recent positioning.

For now, Hayes’ proposed bet stands as a rare public test of conviction in a market where opinions and capital flows often move in different directions. Whether Samani accepts the bet or not, the episode has placed renewed focus on Hyperliquid’s role in the evolving crypto derivatives landscape.

Digital asset manager CoinShares has brushed aside concerns that quantum computers could soon shake up the Bitcoin market, arguing that only a fraction of coins are held in wallets worth attacking.

In a post on Friday, CoinShares Bitcoin research lead Christopher Bendiksen argued that just 10,230 Bitcoin (BTC) of 1.63 million Bitcoin sit in wallet addresses with publicly visible cryptographic keys that are vulnerable to a quantum computing attack.

A little over 7,000 Bitcoin are held in wallets with between 100 and 1,000 BTC, while roughly 3,230 Bitcoin are held in wallets with 1,000 to 10,000 BTC, equating to $719.1 million at current market prices, which Bendiksen said could even resemble a routine trade.

The remaining 1.62 million Bitcoin are held in wallets with holdings under 100 BTC, which Bendiksen claimed would each take a millennium to unlock, even in the “most outlandishly optimistic scenario of technological progression in quantum computing.”

The CoinShares researcher said these “theoretical risks” stem from quantum algorithms such as Shor’s, which could break Bitcoin’s elliptic-curve signatures, and Grover’s, which could weaken the Secure Hash Algorithm 256-bit (SHA-256).

However, he argued neither quantum algorithm could alter Bitcoin’s 21 million supply cap or bypass proof-of-work, two of the Bitcoin network’s most foundational features.

Quantum fears have been among the many drivers of Bitcoin FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) in recent months, with critics warning that any compromise of its cryptography could threaten a network that currently secures $1.4 trillion in value.

The Bitcoin at risk are unspent transaction output (UTXO) wallets, which are chunks of Bitcoin tied to wallet addresses that have not been spent. Many of these Bitcoin wallets at risk date back to the Satoshi era.