Arthur Hayes has exited Maelstrom's directional cryptocurrency positions, with on-chain analysts tracking approximately $26 million in token sales announced on October 24.
Hayes cited mounting macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty in his decision to take profits on Ethereum (ETH), Ethena (ENA), Uniswap (UNI), and other digital assets. According to on-chain analyst EmberCN, Ethereum represented nearly three-quarters of the total sales value.
Breakdown of Sales
The reported transactions included:
- 8,000 ETH worth approximately $19 million
- 14 million ENA valued at $3 million
- 323,000 UNI worth $2 million
- 1,890,000 Ether.fi (ETHFI) tokens valued at $1 million
- 547,000 Aerodrome Finance (AERO) tokens worth $400,000
- 120,000 Pendle (PENDLE) tokens valued at $240,000
- 3 million Zama (ZAMA) tokens worth $210,000
Hayes described the transactions as profit-taking and stated he would remain on the sidelines until market conditions provided clearer signals to resume trading. "I think we gotta go down to go up," he wrote.
Shift From Bullish September Stance
The move represents a significant reversal from Hayes' September positioning. In his September 2 investment outlook, he maintained a $10,000 year-end target for Ethereum and price expectations of $0.5 for ENA and $2 for ETHFI. Those forecasts relied on expectations that European financial stress would prompt the Federal Reserve to increase dollar liquidity.
Hayes also indicated that Bitcoin remained Maelstrom's structural long-term holding, while Ethereum and selected decentralized finance tokens represented more speculative positions. The current exit does not confirm liquidation of longer-term Bitcoin exposure.
Ethereum Exchange Outflows
Hayes' announcement followed an October 23 report by blockchain analytics firm Santiment, which identified Ethereum's largest daily net exchange outflow in more than four months. Approximately 169,770 ETH withdrew from exchanges on a net basis during that single day.
Santiment compared this withdrawal pattern to a June 5 episode when approximately 223,800 ETH left exchanges as Ethereum reached its lowest price since April. That earlier movement preceded a local market recovery.
Santiment identified $2,400 as an immediate pivot level, noting that a sustained move above $2,500 would strengthen a bottoming hypothesis, while a fall below approximately $2,330 would weaken it. The analytics firm noted that exchange withdrawals can reflect transfers to private wallets, custody services, or staking arrangements rather than necessarily indicating fresh buying demand.
