Maelstrom, the family office of BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes, is seeking to raise at least $250m for its first private equity fund to acquire established businesses in the crypto ecosystem, Bloomberg reports. 

The new vehicle, Maelstrom Equity Fund I, will invest between $40m and $75m per deal across four to six acquisitions, focusing on profitable “off-chain” firms such as trading infrastructure providers and analytics platforms rather than token-based projects.

The U.S.-registered fund is targeting a first close by March 2026 and a final close by September 2026. It will seek commitments from institutional backers including pension funds, family offices, and crypto investors.

Akshat Vaidya, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Maelstrom, will lead the fund alongside Hayes and new partner Adam Schlegel. Each deal will be structured through a special-purpose vehicle, with Maelstrom acting as the anchor investor. The strategy focuses on acquiring companies at attractive valuations, improving operations and cash flow, and exiting within four to five years.

The launch comes amid renewed dealmaking activity in the digital assets sector, with quarterly M&A volumes reaching a record $10bn in Q3 2025, according to Architect Partners. Recent headline deals include Coinbase’s $2.9bn acquisition of Deribit and Ripple’s $1.25bn purchase of Hidden Road.

Despite a cooling fundraising environment across private markets, Vaidya said the fund expects strong demand from investors seeking to capitalise on the rebound in crypto valuations and M&A activity.

Arthur Hayes, pardoned earlier this year by former U.S. President Donald Trump after pleading guilty to Bank Secrecy Act violations, has re-emerged as a leading investor in digital assets. He continues to be credited with pioneering the perpetual swap and inspiring the development of Ethena’s synthetic dollar, now one of the world’s largest stablecoins.

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