Arthur Hayes, the co-founder of BitMEX and chief investment officer of Maelstrom Fund, said on October 24, 2026, that he has closed the fund’s entire directional trading book, taking profits on Ether, Ethena and Uniswap along with a range of other tokens.

Hayes announced the move in a post on X, writing that he was stepping aside amid macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty and would wait for clearer conditions before re-entering the market.

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 value of the sales at $22.28 million across seven tokens. The largest single piece was 6,400 Ether worth about $15.2 million, 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). pic.twitter.com/wV19JL4o6S

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) October 24, 2026

The three largest positions — Ether, Ethena and Uniswap — together accounted for about $20.2 million of the sales. Hayes sold 14 million Ethena tokens worth $2.76 million and 323,000 Uniswap tokens valued at $2.24 million.

Smaller positions were closed as well. These included 1.89 million Ether.fi tokens worth $1.23 million and 546,609 Aerodrome tokens worth $398,000, while Lookonchain’s list also covered 120,000 Pendle tokens worth $244,000 and 3 million Zama tokens worth $214,000.

Aside from Ether, the list leaned toward tokens tied to decentralized finance protocols — Ethena, Uniswap, Ether.fi, Aerodrome and Pendle — meaning a single unwind touched several DeFi-related positions at once, which is part of why the move drew attention from on-chain trackers.

Why Hayes Says He Sold

In his post, Hayes said conditions look “a bit dicey” in macro and geopolitical terms. He did not point to a specific policy decision, conflict or economic report, and said he will sit on the sidelines until he sees an “all clear signal.” He also did not define what that signal would look like.

The exit came during a week in which other market pressures were also reported, including hawkish signals from the Federal Reserve, outflows from crypto exchange-traded funds and weakening sentiment toward technology and AI stocks. For readers tracking the market, the move is a data point on how one prominent manager adjusts exposure when conditions turn uncertain — though it reflects one fund’s decision rather than a market-wide signal.

Hayes offered no price target for Bitcoin or Ether, and he did not say when he might rebuild the closed positions. Both his August maximum-risk stance and this week’s exit were announced through public channels — an essay and an X post, respectively — giving observers a public trail to follow for any future change in stance.

The statement has limits. Hayes did not release a full list of Maelstrom’s holdings, hedges or private investments, and he did not mention a Bitcoin sale. Lookonchain’s figures reflect the value of the tokens sold, not the profit realized, since no purchase prices were disclosed.

A Shift From Earlier This Year

The sale reverses Maelstrom’s stance from earlier in the year. In August, Hayes described the fund as being at maximum risk exposure, naming Bitcoin, Ether, Ethena and Ether.fi among its main positions.

That view came from his August essay “Same Same But Different,” in which he argued that U.S. Treasury bond buybacks would help create conditions favorable to Bitcoin, while warning that markets could still see sharp drops even in an uptrend.

Hayes has traded in both directions this year. In June, a wallet possibly linked to him received 3,000 Ether worth $5.42 million from market maker Flowdesk. By June 19, Lookonchain reported that he had sold 6,000 Ether for about $10.14 million at an average price of $1,690, estimating a loss of $606,000 on the trade after he had bought roughly 5,900 Ether at an average of $1,793 in the days before. The “possibly linked” phrasing reflects how on-chain trackers operate: they monitor public wallet flows and rely on address attribution, a process that cannot always be confirmed.

His earlier sales have drawn market attention. After he sold his Hyperliquid position, the HYPE token fell about 4%, according to one report — an example of how closely his position changes are watched by other market participants.

Hayes has also made notable public price calls in recent weeks, saying Ether could reach $10,000 and that Bitcoin could reach $1 million. A separate Standard Chartered forecast puts Ethena at $2 by 2028.

As of October 24, Maelstrom’s directional book is in cash, with Hayes saying he will wait for the all clear signal before returning.