Maelstrom, the family office connected to BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes, is reportedly looking to raise $250 million for a private equity fund aimed at acquiring crypto companies.
According to a Bloomberg report on Friday, the fund plans to use $40 million to $75 million for each acquisition of as many as six crypto companies, with funding expected to be completed by September 2026. Maelstrom will reportedly focus on companies offering trading infrastructure and analytics platforms.
Maelstrom co-founder and managing partner Akshat Vaidya reportedly said investors in the fund “want exposure to the high-cash flow, high-growth crypto sector but lack the capabilities in-house to do this themselves.” Vaidya will reportedly run the fund with Hayes and Adam Schlegel, a new partner at Maelstrom.
Hayes was one of four BitMEX executives who received a pardon from US President Donald Trump in March. The group had been facing criminal charges related to violations of the US Bank Secrecy Act.
Related: Tom Lee, Arthur Hayes double down on $10K Ether this year
Hayes stepped down as CEO of BitMEX in 2020 after US authorities charged him and his associates Benjamin Delo, Gregory Dwyer and Samuel Reed with charges related to violations of the US Bank Secrecy Act. Since his pardon, he has become a more visible presence in the crypto industry, offering price predictions and analyses.
Acquisitions across the crypto industry
Maelstrom’s intentions signaled interest from private equity to return to crypto companies, investments that reportedly waned after the collapse of the FTX exchange in 2022.
This year, Ripple Labs acquired GTreasury for $1 billion, as part of the crypto payments company’s acquisition strategy. The purchase followed a $1.25 billion deal for Ripple to acquire prime broker Hidden Road in April, and Coinbase agreeing to acquire options trading platform Deribit for $2.9 billion in May.
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