Arthur Hayes: Crypto Markets, Geopolitics, and Web3 Predictions

Alex sits down with Arthur Hayes, Co-Founder of BitMEX and CIO of Maelstrom, to talk about Arthur and Alex's time at Wharton together, Arthur's journey from Wall Street to crypto, the rise of BitMEX and Maelstrom, and how geopolitics, global monetary policy, and decentralization are shaping the future of crypto.

Arthur is the CIO of Maelstrom, a family office that invests across the crypto ecosystem. He is also the co-founder of BitMEX - the first crypto unicorn. Prior to entering the crypto industry, he worked as a trader in the capital markets divisions of Deutsche Bank and Citibank. Arthur holds a Bachelors of Economics from the Wharton School of Business. He has appeared on major business news networks including Bloomberg and CNBC. He is active on X (@CryptoHayes) and releases a monthly newsletter (Crypto Trader Digest) read by thousands of investors globally.

Episode Overview

• Arthur Hayes' journey from Wall Street to crypto pioneer as Co-Founder of BitMEX and CIO of Maelstrom
• Reflections on his time at Wharton and how his finance education shaped his approach to financial markets and crypto innovation
• The creation of perpetual swaps and BitMEX's impact on the crypto industry
• How macroeconomic factors like U.S. monetary policy, the 2008 financial crisis, and government bailouts shaped Arthur’s views on financial markets and crypto

"At the end of the day, what Xi Jinping decides for China and what the BOJ under Ueda decides for Japan is much more impactful upon number one, the United States and how they run their monetary policy, and crypto in general. Because at the end of the day, China and Japan hold the most amount of dollar assets globally."

- Arthur Hayes on China and Japan's influence on the future of crypto

• Solana versus Ethereum: Arthur's thoughts on which blockchain will dominate and how each approaches decentralization, scalability, and community building
• The impact of meme coins on humanity: how the culture of memes, humor, and internet trends could drive billions of users into the crypto space

"Memes are part of human culture. If we're able to bring those on chain and trade those, we're going to bring billions of people into crypto because it's interesting, it's fun, it's lighthearted...I think that's how we get people on chain. The chain that is able to do that the best is going to generate billions of users very, very quickly."

- Arthur Hayes on meme coins' influence on crypto adoption

• The influence of geopolitics, specifically China and Japan, on global macro trends and crypto markets
• U.S. presidential election: Arthur’s perspective on the impact of Kamala Harris versus Donald Trump taking office
• Arthur’s insights on decentralization and staking, and how Maelstrom is advising and investing in crypto projects with a long-term vision
• The role of institutional adoption in crypto and how it may influence the future direction of the industry
• Arthur's High Stakes Hot Take: his bold prediction of a $1 billion-plus meme coin by the end of 2024

About Validation Cloud

Validation Cloud is a Web3 data streaming and infrastructure company that connects organizations into Web3 through a fast, scalable, and intelligent platform. Headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, Validation Cloud offers highly performant and customizable products in staking, node, and data-as-a-service. Learn more at Validationcloud.io | LinkedIn | X