Arthur Hayes Dumps $22 Million in Crypto, Warns of More Pain
Arthur Hayes, the chief investment officer of Maelstrom, has sold approximately $22.28 million in crypto assets, citing macro and geopolitical risks.
Hayes disclosed the sale of his entire directional book on X, stating he took profits on Ethereum and Ethena before exiting 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
Assets Sold
Lookonchain data reveals the largest sale was 6,400 Ethereum, valued at $15.2 million. Hayes also sold 14 million Ethena for $2.76 million and 323,000 Uniswap tokens for $2.24 million.
Other assets sold included 1.89 million Ether.fi tokens and stakes in Aerodrome Finance, Pendle, and Zama.
Profit and Loss
Hayes claims to have taken profits on Ethereum and Ethena, though his cost basis for ETH is not public. For Ethena, he reportedly bought 9.05 million tokens in early August for about $0.085 each and sold them for approximately $0.20.
His newer bets fared worse; he paid about $889,000 for Aerodrome, Pendle, and Zama tokens in mid-October and sold them for about $856,000, incurring a loss of roughly $33,000.
Market Context
The sales occurred during a broader market downturn, with six of the seven tokens sold down over the past month. Crypto liquidations reached $942.1 million in 24 hours on October 15, with long positions accounting for 91.6% of the total.
On October 23, a selloff sent the Nasdaq down 2.6% and Bitcoin toward $81,400, while rising oil prices added to inflation concerns.
Federal Reserve Decision
The Federal Reserve’s next decision, due October 28, could shape the outlook for risk assets. The Fed raised rates to 3.75%–4% on September 16, its first hike since July 2023. CME FedWatch data puts the odds of a hold at 90%.
Minutes from September’s meeting showed most officials expected another hike by year-end. Hayes has previously argued that an eventual bailout would flood markets with new money, but his latest exit suggests he is cautious about the near-term outlook.
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