The crypto community is scrutinizing Arthur Hayes and his Maelstrom Fund following revelations of a significant sale of $CARDS tokens shortly after Hayes posted an ambitious $4 price target.
On-chain data analyzed by Nansen shows a wallet linked to the Maelstrom Fund accumulated 6.82 million $CARDS (approximately $2 million) within 24 hours after the fund published its "Collector Crypt" thesis, which highlighted the project's potential in tokenizing real-world trading cards. The token, native to the Collector Crypt platform on Solana, enables the conversion of physical cards into redeemable NFTs, and its price then hovered around $0.30. On June 24, Arthur Hayes publicly shared a $4 target for $CARDS on social media, boosting optimism among retail traders.
However, just one day later, the Maelstrom Fund transferred $1.92 million worth of $CARDS to flowdesk_co, effectively offloading a large portion of its position. This rapid succession of events — from accumulation to a bullish forecast followed by an immediate dump — has sparked allegations of market manipulation and conflicts of interest. Nansen’s data further highlighted a split: while notable figures like @CryptoHayes (believed to be Hayes) were accumulating, smart money wallets were simultaneously trimming their holdings, and institutional investors appeared to be taking profits.
As of now, $CARDS is trading near $0.23, well below the $0.30 level at the time of the target call, raising questions about the true intent behind the $4 prediction. Hayes, a former BitMEX co-founder with a controversial history, has not publicly addressed the backlash. The incident underscores the need for caution when following influential voices in crypto, particularly when large holders exhibit contradictory behavior.
