The Arthur Hayes family office: Maelstrom

The American entrepreneur and crypto founder

Arthur Hayes became a major figure in the cryptocurrency world when he founded BitMEX, one of the largest virtual currency derivatives exchanges. Hayes started his career as an investment banker, working for Deutsche Bank and Citigroup for 5 years. In 2014, Hayes co-founded BitMEX with Ben Delo and Samuel Reed. The company is based in the Seychelles, where the platform has become a major player in the cryptocurrency market. BitMEX offers retail investors access to global financial markets through cryptocurrency derivatives. In 2021, BitMEX had a daily trading volume of $2 billion.

Hayes’ career was cut short in 2020 when the US Department of Justice accused him and his business partners of failing to comply with anti-money laundering regulations. As part of the investigation, Hayes resigned as CEO of Bitmex that same year. He was convicted in 2022 for failing to establish, implement and maintain an anti-money laundering policy. Since then, Hayes has focused on managing his investments through his family office, Maelstrom. He is also active in philanthropy.

The investment focus of the Arthur Hayes Family Office

The investment focus of Arthur Haye’s Maelstrom family office is to build a decentralized infrastructure. Typical investments range from $100,000 to $250,000. The family office describes itself as a long-term investor in entropy, trust, decentralization and new models for monetizing the Internet. Their portfolio includes a variety of different start-ups, mainly in the tech and crypto sectors. Key investments include Cytonic, Ethena, Oyl and Hyperline. In addition to its focus on venture capital investments, Maelstrom is also active in the education sector. With Our Wallet, the Arthur Hayes family office has launched a financial literacy program.

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