Key Notes
- Arthur Hayes says Maelstrom has closed its directional trading portfolio and taken profits on ETH, ENA, UNI and other tokens.
- Lookonchain estimates the identified token selling at about $22.28 million, not the amount of realized profit.
- Hayes cites macroeconomic and geopolitical risks and has not specified a re-entry date.
Arthur Hayes says Maelstrom has closed its directional trading portfolio, taking profits on Ethereum, Ethena, Uniswap and other tokens as he steps aside from a market he considers vulnerable to further losses.
The BitMEX co-founder and Maelstrom chief investment officer made the announcement in an October 24 post. His reference to the fund’s directional book concerns positions taken to profit from market moves; it does not establish that he has sold every personal holding or all of Maelstrom’s investments.
— Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) October 24, 2026
Hayes Waits for a Clearer Signal
Hayes cited an unsettled macroeconomic and geopolitical backdrop rather than a problem with any one of the tokens he sold.
“I think we gotta go down to go up,” he wrote, saying he would remain on the sidelines until an “all clear signal.” He did not specify a re-entry date, a price target for the decline or a measurable condition that would bring him back into those trades.
The statement confirms a reduction in trading exposure, but does not identify whether the proceeds are being held in bank cash, stablecoins or another instrument.
Lookonchain Tracks About $22.28M in Tokens
Blockchain analytics service Lookonchain separately reported approximately $22.28 million in token selling associated with Hayes. Its October 24 breakdown listed:
- 6,400 ETH, valued at $15.2 million
- 14 million ENA, valued at $2.76 million
- 323,000 UNI, valued at $2.24 million
- 1.89 million ETHFI, valued at $1.23 million
- 546,609 AERO, valued at $398,000
- 120,000 PENDLE, valued at $244,000
- 3 million ZAMA, valued at $214,000
Ether accounts for roughly two-thirds of the tracker’s dollar estimate. The figures are Lookonchain’s valuation of the activity it identified, rather than a complete, independently audited account of Maelstrom’s assets or trade execution.
They also should not be read as $22.28 million in profit. Hayes said he took profits, but the announcement does not supply acquisition costs or a verified realized-profit figure for the positions.
A Trading Exit Within a Broader Business
Maelstrom’s investment mandate spans venture investments, liquid assets, private equity and public markets. Closing its directional book does not by itself announce the sale of its private-company stakes or the closure of the business.
The move follows Hayes’s longer-term argument that financial stress could eventually support crypto if governments respond with additional liquidity. CoinScreamer’s earlier report examined his AI-investment bust scenario and its conditional link to Bitcoin demand.
His latest announcement addresses the period before any recovery: he is reducing exposure while waiting for conditions to improve. It does not say that he has sold Bitcoin, nor does it provide a timetable for the rebound he anticipates.
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