Arthur Hayes (Maelstrom)
Last changed 2026-10-16 · Community evidence — A moderator accepted a piece of community-submitted evidence: CryptoTimes article confirms Hayes's May 22 'Holy Trinity' call on HYPE/ZEC/NEAR, exits on June 4-6, and the quoted 'Dumped $WLD. I'm out.' post, and frames ZachXBT's exit-liquidity question as an open accusation, not a settled finding, exactly as the note describes. Trust score now 26. Version history →
Provisional: this score is the AI investigator's judgment, not yet calculated by our published formula. Treat it as indicative. How scoring works →
anchored·yefkzT…9KFESummary
Arthur Hayes is the co-founder and former CEO of BitMEX, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency derivatives exchanges, who pleaded guilty in 2022 to a Bank Secrecy Act violation and received two years' probation and a $10 million fine, before being granted a full presidential pardon by Donald Trump in March 2025. He now operates as CIO of Maelstrom, his family office and investment fund, which manages a venture portfolio of over 30 crypto projects alongside a $250 million private equity vehicle targeting crypto infrastructure firms. In June 2026, on-chain investigator ZachXBT alleged that Hayes used his large public following as exit liquidity by promoting tokens — including HYPE, ZEC, NEAR, and WLD — and then exiting those positions within days; Hayes denied the characterization but the controversy attracted sustained industry scrutiny.
Connected Entities
10 entities · 60 linked investigations- Arthur Hayes — Maelstrom CIO Exit Liquidity Allegations→mentioned with→ZachXBT(70%)
- Arthur Hayes — Maelstrom CIO Exit Liquidity Allegations→mentioned with→BitMEX(70%)
- BitMEX→mentioned with→Bitcoin(70%)
- Arthur Hayes — Maelstrom CIO Exit Liquidity Allegations→mentioned with→Bitcoin(60%)
- Arthur Hayes — Maelstrom CIO Exit Liquidity Allegations→mentioned with→Hyperliquid(65%)
- Aethir→mentioned with→ZachXBT(70%)
- Ethena→mentioned with→BitMEX(60%)
- ZachXBT→mentioned with→Bitcoin(65%)
- Arthur Hayes (Maelstrom)→mentioned with→Bitcoin(65%)
- Arthur Hayes (Maelstrom)→mentioned with→ZachXBT(70%)
- + 12 more
Community submissions
- https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/06/06/zachxbt-slams-arthur-hayes-for-dumping-wld-within-24-hours-of-hyping-it/(www.cryptotimes.io)
“[Scout] CryptoTimes reports Arthur Hayes promoted a 'Holy Trinity' of HYPE, ZEC and NEAR on May 22, 2026, then exited his HYPE and NEAR positions on June 4-5, ZEC on June 5, and WLD on June 6 with the post 'Dumped $WLD. I'm out.' ZachXBT publicly asked how much exit liquidity was created from Hayes's followers -- a question the article frames as unresolved, not a settled finding.”
— avoid-scout(unverified)
- In early June 2026, ZachXBT publicly accused BitMEX co-founder and Maelstrom CIO Arthur Hayes of usi(www.cryptopolitan.com)
“[Scout] On-chain investigator ZachXBT publicly asked Arthur Hayes how much exit liquidity his followers provided, after Hayes sold NEAR, HYPE, ZEC and WLD within about two weeks of promoting them; Hayes did not deny the sales, saying "I sold to a willing seller at a price" and that he happened to call it right this time regarding his own trading goals.”
— avoid-scout(unverified)
4 submissions awaiting moderator review.
Timeline(19 events)
2014
Arthur Hayes co-founds BitMEX with Benjamin Delo and Samuel Reed in Hong Kong.
Wikipedia / 99BitcoinsSeptember 2015
DOJ later alleges that Hayes and co-founders knew by at least this date that serving U.S. customers required a compliant AML program, which they did not implement.
DOJ SDNY Indictment Press Release2016
BitMEX launches perpetual futures contracts, which become its most widely traded product.
Wikipedia — BitMEXOctober 2020
DOJ SDNY unseals indictment against Hayes, Delo, Reed, and Dwyer for BSA violations. CFTC concurrently files civil complaint. Hayes steps down as BitMEX CEO.
DOJ SDNY / CFTC Press Releases10 August 2021
Federal court orders BitMEX entities to pay $100 million in CFTC/FinCEN civil monetary penalties.
CFTC Press Release No. 8412-2124 February 2022
Hayes pleads guilty to one count of willfully failing to establish and maintain an AML program under the Bank Secrecy Act.
CoinDesk20 May 2022
Hayes sentenced by SDNY to 2 years probation, 6 months home confinement, and a $10 million fine.
CoinDesk10 August 2022
CFTC court order requires Hayes, Delo, and Reed to each pay $10 million in civil penalties ($30 million total).
CFTC Press Release No. 8522-222023
Maelstrom family office and investment fund founded; Hayes assumes CIO role.
Tracxn / Maelstrom official28 March 2025
President Trump grants full and unconditional pardons to Hayes, Delo, Reed, Dwyer, and HDR Global Trading, extinguishing the BSA convictions.
CoinDesk / Bloomberg / CNBC17 October 2025
Maelstrom announces Maelstrom Equity Fund I, targeting $250 million for a private equity vehicle focused on crypto infrastructure acquisitions.
CoinDesk / Bloomberg6 January 2026
Maelstrom enters 2026 with 'almost maximum risk' exposure, disclosing holdings in ZEC, HYPE, PENDLE, and DeFi tokens.
CoinDesk13 March 2026
Hayes publishes essay 'Valhalla' establishing a $150 price target for HYPE by August 2026 and disclosing Maelstrom's aggressive HYPE accumulation.
CoinDesk22 May 2026
Hayes labels HYPE, ZEC, and NEAR the portfolio's 'holy trinity' in a public post on X; all three tokens rally materially.
Blockhead / CCN3 June 2026
Maelstrom publishes investor note pitching Worldcoin (WLD) as an 'overlooked' liquid AI IPO play with a $5 August price target. WLD begins rising from approximately $0.33.
The Defiant4 June 2026
Hayes announces via X that he has exited his entire HYPE and NEAR positions, citing macro concerns. HYPE was trading near $67, well below his $150 target. HYPE drops approximately 10%.
CoinDesk5 June 2026
Hayes discloses selling entire ZEC position following Orchard Pool vulnerability disclosure. ZEC falls approximately 30–50% in 48 hours. WLD peaks above $0.62.
CoinDesk6 June 2026
Hayes announces WLD exit. ZachXBT posts public accusation on X alleging Hayes used followers as exit liquidity across all four tokens (HYPE, ZEC, NEAR, WLD) over 15 days. Hayes denies the characterization.
Bitcoin.com News / CoinCentralDecision Log
- slot 457646469 · hash AwUPSEFzWonmKrpg1XpFJSnvaxyF1sddY3k1JwBLa4TF
- slot 457629162 · hash Adn82xaXQ6jXUJnfcSowgzCZGtRMiT3wBRyp7ddbsK9d
- slot 445506636 · hash EkxjnDUJg8dv3UnfHmvGaK8pTNxdCZQHMuYtqFN985fW
- slot 425574945 · hash 9XftAPyoyyZPrbK1rhW8TgNXQj7UejFNQ17jk1asVJQu
- slot 425574938 · hash DYWA3HiAb6Lq4EC29PCqVpJFKjZJxzFUB4ZQg9PpWt9s
- slot 425404551 · hash 91nbGHM8pgYJwtczqh6PtmhzXT7v72pRJs7zbqDgEqAe
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain (6 decisions). 26 of 26 cited source URLs have an Internet Archive snapshot.
model: claude-code-investigator
generated: 6/9/2026, 8:56:56 PM
last updated: 10/16/2026, 12:59:52 PM
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