• Maelstrom plans to raise $250 million to buy mid-sized crypto firms with strong income and clear valuations.
• The fund will target six crypto companies, each with deals ranging from $40 million to $75 million in value.
• Maelstrom will focus on equity in trading and data platforms instead of risky token-based investments.

Maelstrom, the family office of the co-founder of BitMEX, Arthur Hayes, is launching a new private equity fund. It will achieve this by raising $250 million to invest or acquire up to six crypto companies. Each deal will involve $40 million to $75 million in capital. The firm expects to close the fund by September 2026.

The new fund, called Maelstrom Equity Fund I, will prioritize equity stakes in trading infrastructure and analytics platforms. These platforms operate off-chain and generate steady revenue. These businesses are more valued and more fundamental as compared to the token-based startups.

Leadership and Investment Strategy

Arthur Hayes will run the fund alongside Akshat Vaidya and Adam Schlegel. Schlegel recently joined as a partner. The team will manage investments through special purpose vehicles. They plan to register the fund in the United States.

The fund targets companies that offer reliable income models. It avoids firms with inflated token values. The focus remains on equity investments rather than crypto tokens. This move marks a shift from speculative token trading to structured private equity deals.

Target Investors and Fundraising Timeline

Maelstrom will approach institutional investors, family offices, and pension funds. These investors seek exposure to crypto without needing in-house expertise. The team aims to complete the first fund closing by March 2026. The full target is $1 billion by September that year.

The fundraising strategy comes as interest in crypto private equity begins to return. The industry fell following the fall of key exchange FTX in 2022. Several companies are currently recording some significant acquisitions, indicating that confidence has returned.

Broader Market Context and Outlook

This year, other major crypto deals have surfaced. Ripple Labs acquired GTreasury for $1 billion and Hidden Road for $1.25 billion. Coinbase agreed to acquire Deribit, a crypto options platform, for $2.9 billion.

Maelstrom’s approach differs by targeting medium-sized companies with proven business models. The focus remains on firms that provide core services to the crypto market. These are analytics systems and trading infrastructure platforms.

In March 2025, Hayes, who resigned in 2020 as the CEO of BitMEX, was pardoned. Since that time, he has become more actively involved in the industry. With this fund, he returns to the market in a new capacity focused on strategic acquisitions.