Institutional trading desk with crypto assets moved into a secured sidelines compartment

Arthur Hayes Moves $26 Million in Crypto to the Sidelines

By Isaac • October 25, 2026 7:12 am • Comments

Arthur Hayes has taken Maelstrom’s short-term crypto bets off the table, saying the fund closed its directional book and will wait for a clearer signal before jumping back in.

On-chain analyst EmberCN estimated that the selling covered about $26 million across seven tokens. Ethereum made up the largest piece: 8,000 ETH valued near $19 million at the time of the tracked transactions.

The rest included roughly 14 million ENA, 323,000 UNI, 1.89 million ETHFI, 547,000 AERO, 120,000 PENDLE and 3 million ZAMA.

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Those dollar estimates reflect market prices around the transfers and can move quickly; Hayes characterized the trades as profit-taking rather than a permanent rejection of crypto.

A tactical exit, not a clean break with Bitcoin

Hayes drew a line between Maelstrom’s directional trading positions and its structural exposure. In the statement, he said the active book had been closed because the macroeconomic and geopolitical setup looked uncertain.

CryptoSlate reported that Bitcoin remained the fund’s long-term structural holding, while Ethereum and selected decentralized-finance tokens had represented more tactical bets.

The reversal followed Hayes’ September outlook, which had included a $10,000 year-end target for Ethereum and bullish targets for ENA and ETHFI. Those forecasts depended on his expectation that financial stress would eventually push the Federal Reserve toward greater dollar liquidity.

The latest sale came before the Federal Reserve’s October 27–28 meeting, when the market is due to receive a fresh signal on rates and financial conditions.

That distinction keeps the move from becoming a simple “Hayes turned bearish on crypto” headline. It is closer to a portfolio manager reducing risk before a noisy stretch, taking gains where they exist and preserving the option to buy again if conditions improve.

Ethereum now has two competing signals

The sale landed beside a very different on-chain indicator. Santiment reported a one-day net exchange outflow of about 169,770 ETH, the largest in more than four months.

Lower exchange balances can reduce immediately available sell-side supply, although transfers to custody, private wallets or staking do not automatically prove new buying demand.

Santiment identified $2,400 as the near-term pivot. In its framework, a sustained move above $2,500 would strengthen the case that Ethereum is forming a bottom, while a break below roughly $2,330 would weaken it.

Hayes’ sale and the broader exchange outflow are not necessarily contradictions. One prominent fund can reduce a tactical position while the wider holder base moves coins away from trading venues.

The tension is precisely what makes the next move difficult to read.

The Federal Reserve meeting raises the stakes

The repositioning comes just before the Federal Reserve’s October 27–28 meeting. Hayes’ prior bullish case leaned heavily on the expectation that financial stress would eventually force more dollar liquidity into the system, a backdrop he has repeatedly argued would benefit scarce and risk-sensitive assets.

For now, he is not waiting inside the trade for that thesis to be confirmed. He has chosen cash and optionality instead.

That does not tell the market where Ethereum trades next. It does show that one of crypto’s loudest macro bulls believes the cost of waiting has fallen below the cost of being early.

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