Arthur Hayes, the co-founder of BitMEX and a well-known figure in the bitcoin community, is reportedly planning a prominent return to the industry.
His family office, Maelstrom, is aiming to raise at least $250 million for its inaugural private equity venture, Maelstrom Equity Fund I, which intends to acquire four to six medium-sized firms within the crypto sector, as per Bloomberg’s reports.
Investments are expected to vary between $40 million and $75 million, targeting companies that deliver trading infrastructure, data analytics, and other technological services to the crypto ecosystem.
Arthur Hayes is recognized for inventing the perpetual swap, revolutionizing the crypto trading platform BitMEX. He became the youngest African American crypto billionaire and was pardoned by President Trump after issues with BitMEX’s anti-money laundering protocols.
“$BTC on sale,” Hayes tweeted on X today. “If this US regional banking instability escalates into a crisis, be prepared for a bailout akin to 2023. And then go shopping if you have capital available.”
Details of Arthur Hayes’ Fund
The new fund signifies a shift for Maelstrom. While the firm’s past investments focused on tokens, this new initiative will concentrate solely on equity.
“You can’t artificially inflate value with a token that isn’t utilized in the off-chain environment,” stated Akshat Vaidya, co-founder and managing partner of Maelstrom.
By focusing on cash-generating, off-chain entities, the fund plans to acquire businesses with more precise valuations and potential for sustainable growth.
Maelstrom is set to structure each acquisition via special-purpose vehicles (SPVs), with the fund serving as the primary investor, according to Bloomberg.
Once acquired, these companies will experience operational enhancements, including management upgrades and growth acceleration, before being resold to larger investors within four to five years.
Vaidya noted that this strategy caters to investors seeking exposure to the rapidly growing, high-cash-flow crypto sector without the in-house expertise to manage such investments directly.
Hayes’ return comes amid a general decline in private equity activity within the crypto space. Deal-making in the industry has sharply decreased since 2022, following the downfall of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX.
The Maelstrom fund will be registered in the United States and aims to draw a diverse set of backers, including crypto investors, family offices, and institutional entities like pension funds.
Vaidya mentioned that the fund is targeting a first close by March 31, 2026, with a complete raise anticipated by September 2026. Hayes will spearhead the initiative alongside Vaidya and newly appointed partner Adam Schlegel, with plans to expand the team as the fund evolves, according to Bloomberg.
A series of notable acquisitions this year, such as Coinbase’s $2.9 billion purchase of Deribit and Ripple’s $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Road, indicate a resurgence of investor confidence in the digital asset space.
