Arthur Hayes, the founder and former CEO of BitMEX, believes the crypto market will have a “choppy” 2024 as the traditional finance sector fully accepts Bitcoin (BTC) by adding the asset’s properties to the existing system through the just-launched exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
In a recent blog post titled “ETF Wif Hat,” Hayes stated that the bull season is just beginning, and amid the market turbulence, he expects the entire crypto complex to be at or above an all-time high by year-end.
Hayes’ choppy 2024 prediction is with regard to price action. He admonished market participants wondering if the spot Bitcoin ETF listings last week marked the top of this bull cycle, asking them not to be “dismayed” by BTC’s price performance since the products began trading.
The BitMEX founder explained that central bankers and governments worldwide are creating reasons why “the money printer must go brrr.” Once the deed is done, money will gush out, and the market will enter another leg of the bull run. One propelling factor in this case would be lawmakers leveraging the fear of a financial crisis to scare investors.
“Once the narrative is in place, and a sufficient crisis allows the politicians and bureaucrats to use the fear of a financial systemic collapse to frighten the public into accepting more destructive fiat debasement, money will gush out of central banks, and we will enter another leg up in the crypto bull market,” he said.
From a long-term perspective, the ETF space will only gather assets if inflation persists, and inflation will persevere because the finance industry is in the process of unraveling the post-World War 2 global economic and military arrangement, according to Hayes. War is always inflationary, so there will be enough ETF trading volumes to create “juicy, long-lasting” arbitrage opportunities.
“Just remember that the financialization of an asset by TradFi usually results, at least initially, in a price rise of the underlying asset in fiat terms. Bitcoin’s financial properties being added to the Pax Americana and, subsequently, Chinese financial markets will be no different over the medium term. The bull market is just beginning,” Hayes added.
Meanwhile, Hayes revealed that BTC’s latest price action only reinforces his choice to wait until mid-March to add any risk to his portfolio. By then, the Fed rate decisions would be in the past, and the upcoming Bitcoin halving would be close.
