Maelstrom, the family office linked to BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes, is reportedly aiming to raise $250 million for a private equity fund designed to acquire crypto firms.
A Bloomberg report from Friday states that the fund intends to allocate $40 million to $75 million for each acquisition of up to six crypto companies, with funding anticipated to be finalized by September 2026. Maelstrom will reportedly target firms providing trading infrastructure and analytics platforms.
Maelstrom co-founder and managing partner Akshat Vaidya reportedly noted that investors in the fund “seek exposure to the high-cash flow, high-growth crypto sector but lack the internal capabilities to pursue this themselves.” Vaidya will reportedly manage the fund alongside Hayes and Adam Schlegel, a recent partner at Maelstrom.
Hayes was among four BitMEX executives pardoned by US President Donald Trump in March, following criminal charges tied to infractions of the US Bank Secrecy Act.
Related: Tom Lee, Arthur Hayes remain confident in $10K Ether this year
Hayes resigned as CEO of BitMEX in 2020 after US authorities charged him and his colleagues Benjamin Delo, Gregory Dwyer, and Samuel Reed with violations of the US Bank Secrecy Act. Since receiving his pardon, he has become more active in the crypto community, providing price forecasts and analyses.
Acquisitions across the crypto sector
Maelstrom’s plans indicate a renewed interest from private equity in crypto firms, a trend that reportedly declined following the 2022 collapse of the FTX exchange.
This year, Ripple Labs purchased GTreasury for $1 billion as part of its acquisition strategy. This followed a $1.25 billion deal for Ripple to acquire prime broker Hidden Road in April, and Coinbase’s agreement to acquire options trading platform Deribit for $2.9 billion in May.
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