Written by Zoltan Vardaistaff writerReviewed by Yohan Yunstaff editor

Written by Zoltan Vardaistaff writer

Reviewed by Yohan Yunstaff editor

Arthur Hayes takes CEO role at Flop Labs ahead of Q4 airdrop

Latest NewsPublishedAug 19, 2026

Hayes revealed his new role as Flop Labs CEO and teased a “massive airdrop” from the AI inference protocol in the fourth quarter of 2026.

BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes stated he would lead Flop Labs and updated his X profile to identify himself as the company’s CEO. Flop Labs is developing a proposed network through which AI agents would pay for computing and other services.

“I’m coming out of retirement to lead @flop_labs,” Hayes stated in a Tuesday X post.

Cointelegraph has approached Hayes for comment and asked whether this position would affect his existing role as chief investment officer of Maelstrom Fund.

Hayes stated Flop plans a “massive airdrop” in the fourth quarter of 2026, before the network’s genesis block launches in early 2027. Further details will be revealed later.

Flop brands itself as a “proof-of-useful-inference protocol founded by Arthur Hayes,” in which AI agents spend the protocol’s native Flop (FLOP) token for inference and decentralized memory services.

Hayes co-founded cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX in 2014 but stepped down from his role as CEO in October 2020. In July 2026, BitMEX revealed that it would shut down its exchange on Sept. 23. 

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• Arthur Hayes
• AI
• Cryptocurrencies
• Cryptocurrency Exchange
• Blockchain Storage
• Industry

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