
- A wallet potentially associated with a BitMEX co-founder has acquired DeFi tokens valued at $2.05 million.
- The transaction included 3,033 AAVE and 1.1253 million LIDO.
- Flowdesk facilitated this transfer, hinting at a possible over-the-counter (OTC) deal.
The altcoin narrative is gaining traction as Ethereum begins to show signs of outperforming the broader market.
In the past 24 hours, ETH, SOL, and XRP saw impressive gains of up to 10%, while the cryptocurrency market leader maintained a steady position above $118,600.
In this shifting landscape, cryptocurrency analysts have noted a significant transaction involving a wallet thought to belong to Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX.
This wallet recently received 3,033.14 AAVE and 1.1253 million LIDO, totaling $2.05 million, from Flowdesk, a prominent trading firm.
[ETHERSCAN] Arthur Hayes Wallet Receives 1.125M LIDO and 3,033 AAVE Worth $2.05M from Flowdesk, Pointing to Potential OTC Buy of DeFi Blue Chips$LDO $AAVE $ETH pic.twitter.com/axTBv2oRZo
— BecauseBitcoin.com (@BecauseBitcoin) July 17, 2025
This is far from an ordinary transaction.
The size, timing, and the parties involved have sparked discussions throughout the crypto community.
Is Arthur Hayes gearing up for a potential surge in DeFi blue-chip tokens?
Flowdesk’s Involvement: A Hint at OTC Transactions
The origin of the transferred assets raises curiosity.
Flowdesk is recognized for executing significant transactions for affluent individuals or institutions.
The direct transfer of tokens from Flowdesk suggests this was an over-the-counter (OTC) transaction.
OTC deals allow buyers to minimize slippage and safeguard their privacy compared to utilizing public exchanges.
Oftentimes, participants favor OTC methods for buying or selling large volumes of digital currencies without influencing the price in the market.
Moreover, investors often seek OTC options when planning to hold substantial amounts of cryptocurrencies for the long term.
Rationale Behind the DeFi Tokens
The choice in tokens was strategic. AAVE and LIDO are two of the most respected assets in the DeFi sector.
AAVE has established itself as one of the earliest and most reliable lending protocols and currently ranks as the second-largest platform on the Ethereum blockchain by total value locked (TVL), recently surpassing Circle.
ICYMI:@aave is currently the #2 business on @ethereum, based on TVL
Aave overtook @circle in the past week@Tether_to remains #1 pic.twitter.com/yFZkEfPp10
— Token Terminal 📊 (@tokenterminal) July 16, 2025
Aave’s plans for multi-chain expansion and the upcoming V4 upgrade have also captured community attention.
On the other hand, Lido has secured its place as a frontrunner in Ethereum’s staking ecosystem.
It offers users a mechanism to stake Ether while simultaneously providing liquidity through stETH.
Significantly, the Lido Impact Staking (LIS) initiative introduced earlier this year aims to foster sustainable funding for social impact projects.
Price Analysis of AAVE
AAVE currently trades at $325, having gained over 10% in the previous week.
Although a recent dip of 1.15% may indicate some profit-taking, the bullish structure for AAVE remains robust.
Noteworthy crypto analyst Javon Marks1 predicts substantial upward movements, potentially to $628, demonstrating a more than 90% rise from the current level.
He further speculates that AAVE could rally as high as $1,200 during a broader market uptrend.
LIDO’s Potential for Growth
Lido DAO’s LDO token is showing positive momentum, with a noteworthy gain of over 4.6% in the last day.
The substantial increase in daily trading volume indicates mounting interest in the asset.
LDO is currently trading around $0.9435 following a 20% surge within the past week.
It is testing immediate resistance levels between $0.95 and $1.00, as highlighted by analyst CW.
The next sell wall for $LDO exists at $1.4. pic.twitter.com/9kv7pyhxsy
— CW (@CW8900) July 17, 2025
The digital asset has established a stable base between $0.66 and $0.72, suggesting it may perform steadily in the near future.
With upcoming resistance at $1.4, LDO holders can anticipate near 50% potential gains shortly.
Overall, the prevailing sentiments within the crypto market favor the optimistic trajectories of both LDO and AAVE.
—
1 For more insights, follow Javon Marks on social media.