TLDR
- Arthur Hayes says he closed Maelstrom’s entire directional trading book.
- Lookonchain reported $22.28 million in sales across seven tokens, led by 6,400 Ether worth $15.2 million.
- Hayes cited macro and geopolitical risk and said he is waiting for an “all clear signal.”
- The exit reverses Maelstrom’s August stance of maximum risk exposure.
- Hayes did not name a price target or a date for re-entering the market.
On October 24, 2026, Arthur Hayes said he closed the directional trading book at Maelstrom Fund. Hayes is the co-founder of BitMEX and the fund’s chief investment officer. He shared the news in a post on X.
“I dumped it all,” he wrote. He said he took profits on Ether, Ethena and Uniswap, along with other tokens. “I think we gotta go down to go up,” he added.
I dumped it all. The Maelstrom directional book, took profits on $ETH, $ENA, $UNI and other shitcoins. I think we gotta go down to go up. It looks a bit dicey out there in macro and geopolitical land. Going to sit on the sidelines and wait for the all clear signal … Brrrrr
— Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) October 24, 2026
What Lookonchain Reported
Blockchain tracker Lookonchain put the total sales at $22.28 million. The largest piece was 6,400 Ether, worth about $15.2 million. That is roughly 68% of the total.
Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) is dumping $22.28M worth of tokens!
Including:
6,400 $ETH ($15.2M),
14M $ENA ($2.76M),
323,000 $UNI ($2.24M),
1.89M $ETHFI ($1.23M),
546,609 $AERO ($398K),
120,000 $PENDLE ($244K),
3M $ZAMA ($214K).https://t.co/gau6egd7Vmhttps://t.co/DXKXubxP65 pic.twitter.com/wV19JL4o6S— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) October 24, 2026
Hayes also sold 14 million Ethena tokens worth $2.76 million. He sold 323,000 Uniswap tokens valued at $2.24 million. Together, these three tokens made up about $20.2 million of the sales.
Smaller positions were also closed. These included 1.89 million Ether.fi tokens worth $1.23 million and 546,609 Aerodrome tokens worth $398,000. Lookonchain also listed 120,000 Pendle tokens worth $244,000 and 3 million Zama tokens worth $214,000.
Why Hayes Says He Sold
Hayes said it looks “a bit dicey” in macro and geopolitical conditions. He did not name a specific policy decision, conflict or economic report. He said he will sit on the sidelines until the all clear signal.
Other market pressures have also been reported this week. These include hawkish signals from the Federal Reserve, outflows from crypto exchange-traded funds and weaker sentiment toward tech and AI stocks.
Hayes gave no price target for Bitcoin or Ether. He also did not say when he might rebuild the positions.
The statement has limits. Hayes did not release a full list of Maelstrom’s holdings, hedges or private investments. He did not mention a Bitcoin sale.
Lookonchain’s figures show the value of the tokens sold. They do not show how much profit Hayes made, since no purchase prices were shared.
A Shift From Earlier This Year
The sale follows a period of aggressive positioning. In August, Hayes described Maelstrom as being at maximum risk exposure. He named Bitcoin, Ether, Ethena and Ether.fi among its main positions.
That view came from his August essay “Same Same But Different.” He argued that U.S. Treasury bond buybacks would help create conditions favorable to Bitcoin. He also warned that markets could see sharp drops even in an uptrend.
Hayes has traded in both directions before. In June, a wallet possibly linked to him received 3,000 Ether worth $5.42 million from market maker Flowdesk. By June 19, Lookonchain said he sold 6,000 Ether for about $10.14 million, at an average price of $1,690.
The tracker estimated a loss of $606,000 on that trade. It said he had bought about 5,900 Ether at an average of $1,793 in the days before.
His earlier sales have drawn market attention. After he sold his Hyperliquid position, the HYPE token fell about 4%, according to one of the reports.
Hayes also said weeks ago that Ether could reach $10,000. He has also said Bitcoin could reach $1 million. A Standard Chartered forecast separately puts Ethena at $2 by 2028.
As of October 24, Maelstrom’s directional book is in cash. Hayes has said he will wait for the all clear signal before returning.
