Arthur Hayes thinks Donald Trump’s crypto support is useless

Arthur Hayes has a few strong opinions about Donald Trump’s support for cryptocurrencies. In an interview, he said that even if Trump wants to back crypto, the government might not let it happen. 

Arthur started his career in finance on Deutsche Bank’s trading floor in Hong Kong back in 2008, right when Lehman Brothers went under. At just 22, he saw the high-flying world of big trades and huge bonuses crumble. 

The crash led to heavy regulations and dull office cultures, pushing thrill-seekers like Arthur out of traditional finance and into the world of crypto.

Arthur’s crypto journey

The Bitcoin white paper was a revelation for Arthur. He told us he found it aligned with his views on the corrupt nature of the banking system. 

Over the next decade, he co-founded BitMEX, became a billionaire, and then faced legal trouble in the U.S. Despite these ups and downs, Arthur believes the crypto industry is now mirroring traditional banking in some ways. He says:

“It still has that energy of a really diverse group of people all around the world.”

Whether they come from finance or tech, they’re drawn to crypto’s potential for huge gains and its high volatility.

Trump and crypto: An uphill battle

While the crypto industry might be throwing money at politics, Arthur thinks it’s not enough to outdo giants like JPMorgan or Goldman Sachs.

Arthur points out that many government agencies are staffed with people from these big banks, making it tough for pro-crypto policies to succeed.

Arthur also believes that no matter who’s in power, they will keep printing money. In his words: 

“Both the Trump administration or Harris administration will print the money. They do it in different ways. But the money will be printed.”

This constant money printing, according to Arthur, means that crypto values will rise over time, even if the journey is bumpy.

A lot of people in the crypto community blame Gary Gensler for regulatory issues. Arthur, however, doesn’t see Gensler as the main problem. 

“People are getting confused with the symptom rather than the issue. Firing Gary isn’t gonna do anything.”

Arthur thinks Gensler is smart but acts differently when in a government role. He believes the focus should be on changing the regulations. 

The crypto billionaire argues that getting worked up about Gensler misses the point. The rules need to change, not just the person enforcing them.

America is not going to create a Bitcoin reserve

Arthur is skeptical about the idea of a U.S. Bitcoin reserve, even if Trump is in office. He thinks it’s unlikely to happen due to the need for broad support and potential negative impacts on the Treasury or Federal Reserve. He told us:

“You’re going to need to have a certain amount of people vote for this. It’s not a practical idea.”

Regardless, Arthur sees some logic in the concept. He believes the U.S. could benefit from weakening the dollar and buying Bitcoin and gold. “The US should weaken the dollar and buy Bitcoin and gold at the end of the day,” he suggested. But he doubts the government would do this, saying they would likely buy gold before Bitcoin. 

Basically, the idea makes sense to him, but he doesn’t see it happening anytime soon. Arthur also criticizes BlackRock’s involvement in the crypto market. He believes that:

“A BlackRock should be able to use Bitcoin and somebody who has no financial services in the Philippines should be able to use crypto.”

The challenge, according to Arthur, is keeping the industry decentralized and ensuring there are consequences for centralization. He added that:

“If you own a BlackRock product, you own a derivative of crypto, you don’t own crypto. BlackRock owns your crypto.” 

While these products are attractive for their simplicity, Arthur says they miss the core of what crypto is about.