Quick answer: Yes. On Oct. 24, 2026, Arthur Hayes said he \”dumped it all\” from Maelstrom’s directional book. Lookonchain tracked about $22.28 million of sales, led by 6,400 ETH worth $15.2 million, plus ENA, UNI, ETHFI, AERO, PENDLE and ZAMA. Hayes cited macro and geopolitical risk.
Arthur Hayes has stepped out of the market and sold his ETH. On Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, the BitMEX co-founder said his family office Maelstrom sold its directional crypto book, and on-chain trackers put the sales at about $22.28 million, led by ether.
The move lands at a tense moment for ETH. Large early holders are also selling. Yet exchange data shows coins leaving trading venues at the fastest pace in months. So the Arthur Hayes ETH sale is one signal, not the whole story.
What did Arthur Hayes sell?
At 06:14 UTC, on-chain analytics account Lookonchain reported that Hayes had sold seven tokens. Four minutes later, Hayes confirmed it on X. “I dumped it all,” he wrote, adding that he “took profits on $ETH, $ENA, $UNI and other shitcoins.”
According to Lookonchain, the sales were:
- 6,400 ETH, worth about $15.2 million
- 14 million ENA, about $2.76 million
- 323,000 UNI, about $2.24 million
- 1.89 million ETHFI, about $1.23 million
- 546,609 AERO, about $398,000
- 120,000 PENDLE, about $244,000
- 3 million ZAMA, about $214,000
Ether made up roughly 68% of the total. The rest was mostly DeFi governance tokens. crypto.news also covered the sales and Hayes’s statement.
Why did Hayes close the Maelstrom book?
Hayes gave a macro reason, not a crypto-specific one. “I think we gotta go down to go up,” he posted. “It looks a bit dicey out there in macro and geopolitical land.” He said he will “sit on the sidelines and wait for the all clear signal.”
This is a clear change in tone. In August 2025, Hayes said Maelstrom was at maximum risk exposure, crypto.news noted. Now he is flat on his directional trades. However, he did not say he had sold everything Maelstrom owns. His post covers the directional book only.
Are other Ethereum whales selling?
Some long-time holders are. On Oct. 24 at 02:39 UTC, Lookonchain flagged an Ethereum ICO participant who bought 100,000 ETH at $0.31. That wallet sent 1,000 ETH to a Kraken deposit address. A day earlier, Lookonchain reported that a holder who bought 3,000 ETH at $18.83 nine years ago sold for about $7.23 million, a 128x gain.
On the other hand, the bigger flows point the other way. Santiment data cited by crypto.news shows a net exchange outflow of about 169,770 ETH on Oct. 22. That was the largest daily outflow in more than four months. Coins leaving exchanges often go to cold storage, staking or lending, rather than straight to a sell order.
What does the ETH data show now?
At 10:51 UTC on Oct. 24, CoinGecko priced ether at $2,368.66, down 1.2% in 24 hours. Its market value stood near $289 billion. That is about 15% below the 90-day closing high of roughly $2,775 on Sept. 22. Still, it remains about 28% above the early-August low near $1,843.
The tokens Hayes sold also slipped. ENA fell 4.8%, UNI 4.4%, PENDLE 4.5% and ETHFI 3.5% over 24 hours, per CoinGecko at the same time. Bitcoin dipped 1.3% to about $80,593. As a result, the move looks like a broad risk-off day, not a Hayes-only reaction.
Fund flows add pressure too. US spot ether ETFs lost about $320.1 million between Oct. 12 and Oct. 16, according to Farside data cited by crypto.news. We tracked that streak in our report on October’s ether ETF outflows.
Why the Arthur Hayes ETH sale matters
A $22 million sale is small next to ether’s daily volume. Its weight comes from the seller. Hayes is one of the most followed macro voices in crypto. When he says he is waiting for an “all clear,” some traders will copy him.
In addition, the sale hits DeFi tokens harder than ETH. ENA, UNI, ETHFI and PENDLE trade with far less depth. Therefore, a few million dollars of selling can move them more. Holders of those tokens may feel this more than ether holders.
Meanwhile, the tension is clear. Famous wallets are taking profit. Large unnamed wallets are pulling ETH off exchanges. Which group wins will likely set ether’s direction into November.
What to watch next
- The $2,400 pivot. Santiment’s analysts treat $2,400 as the key line. A move back above $2,500 would strengthen a bottom. A loss of about $2,330 would weaken it, per crypto.news.
- ETF flows. A return to inflows would ease the pressure from whale selling. See how crypto ETFs work for what these numbers mean.
- Upgrade timing. Ethereum’s next fork has slipped, as covered in our Glamsterdam delay report.
- Hayes’s next post. He said he will return after an “all clear signal.” His re-entry would be news in itself.
FAQ
Did Arthur Hayes sell all his ETH?
He said he “dumped it all” from Maelstrom’s directional book on Oct. 24, 2026. Lookonchain tracked 6,400 ETH sold, worth about $15.2 million. He did not say whether other Maelstrom holdings changed.
Why did Arthur Hayes sell crypto?
He cited risk in “macro and geopolitical land” and said “we gotta go down to go up.” He plans to wait on the sidelines for an “all clear signal,” per his X post.
Is ETH being accumulated or dumped by whales?
Both. Some early holders sold in late October, per Lookonchain. Yet Santiment data shows about 169,770 ETH left exchanges on Oct. 22, the largest daily outflow in over four months.
Not financial advice. Crypto assets are volatile; do your own research (DYOR) before you trade.
Sources
- Arthur Hayes on X: “I dumped it all”
- Lookonchain on X: Arthur Hayes token sales
- crypto.news: Arthur Hayes sells ETH and DeFi tokens
- crypto.news: Ethereum whales, exchange outflows and Santiment levels
- Lookonchain on X: ICO-era ETH holder moves 1,000 ETH
- Lookonchain on X: 128x ETH holder sells
- CoinGecko: Ethereum price
