Hayes’ Maelstrom to raise $250 million for crypto acquisitions

Maelstrom, managed by the family office of BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes, plans to raise $250 million for a private equity fund that will buy mid-market crypto infrastructure and analytics companies.

The Maelstrom equity fund I plans to spend between $40 million and $75 million per deal on as many as six crypto companies, co-founder and managing partner Akshat Vaidya told Bloomberg.

Financing for the planned acquisitions is expected to be completed by September 2026.

Maelstrom will focus on trading infrastructure and analytics platforms

Vaidya said on

The fund will be the first private equity (PE) fund fully focused on acquiring profitable, off-chain crypto infrastructure companies, Vaidya said.

Maelstrom Equity Fund I, LP* is out of the woods

Let’s dive in –

* @CryptoHayes’ debut external fund, the first control-buyout PE fund ever to specialize exclusively in the crypto industry. Objectives = profitable, off-chain ‘picks and shovels’.

Why we build this:
– Problem 1:… pic.twitter.com/K5E2wWbUqF

— Akshat_Maelstrom (@akshat_hk) October 17, 2025

The Maelstrom co-founder identified three core issues that make it difficult for acquisitions in the crypto space.

In addition to founders of cash-flow companies having limited liquidity options, he noted that it is difficult for traditional financial investors to gain exposure to quality companies. Institutional investors also have poor fund options and can only invest in the crypto space through venture capital funds that deliver weak risk-adjusted returns, Vaidya added.

Maelstrom will also use the combined experience and network of its team to professionalize the businesses and grow them into acquisition-ready assets. It will then give large investors a way to enter crypto through profitable, cash-flowing businesses rather than volatile tokens.

This, Vaidya argues, will enable scaled exposure to the crypto space with lower levels of risk.

Hayes becomes more active in the crypto space after Trump Pardon

Hayes, who will help lead the new fund, stepped down as CEO of BitMEX in 2020 after US authorities charged him and his associates Benjamin Delo, Gregory Dwyer and Samual Reed with violations of the US Bank Secrecy Act.

Hayes surrendered to U.S. authorities in 2021, pleaded guilty in 2022 and was sentenced to two years of probation with six months of home confinement.

His presence in the crypto world has become more apparent since he received a pardon from US President Donald Trump in March.

Following the steep correction in Bitcoin’s price over the past week, Hayes said said yesterday on X that it is “on sale”.

BTC price (Source: CoinMarketCap)

“If this fluctuation in US regional banking turns into a crisis, be prepared for a 2023-style bailout,” he said. “And then go shopping, assuming you have spare capital.”

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