Arthur Hayes exits crypto trading positions as analysts track $26 million in sales

Arthur Hayes has exited Maelstrom's directional crypto positions, and on-chain analysts are tracking about $26 million in token sales.

In an Oct. 24 statement, Hayes said he had taken profits on Ethereum (ETH), Ethena (ENA), Uniswap (UNI), and other cryptocurrencies, citing mounting macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty.

The decision follows blockchain analytics firm Santiment's Oct. 23 report of Ethereum's largest daily net exchange outflow in more than four months, a pattern it compared with a June local bottom.

On-chain analyst EmberCN reported that Hayes sold about $26 million in cryptocurrencies, with Ethereum accounting for nearly three-quarters of the total.

The transactions included 8,000 ETH worth approximately $19 million, 14 million ENA valued at $3 million, and 323,000 UNI worth $2 million.

Additional disposals involved 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, and 3 million Zama (ZAMA) tokens worth $210,000.

Hayes described the trades as profit-taking; the dollar estimates come from EmberCN.

“I think we gotta go down to go up,” he wrote, adding that conditions looked uncertain across the macroeconomic and geopolitical landscape.

He said he would remain on the sidelines until market conditions provided a clearer signal to resume trading.

The decision represents a substantial shift from the bullish positioning Hayes outlined in September.

In his Sept. 2 investment outlook, the Maelstrom chief investment officer maintained a $10,000 year-end target for Ethereum, alongside price expectations of $0.5 for ENA and $2 for ETHFI.

Those forecasts depended heavily on his expectation that financial stress in Europe would eventually force the Federal Reserve to increase dollar liquidity, creating favorable conditions for cryptocurrency prices.