Crypto's value is from being outside regulatory apparatus, says Arthur Hayes

FinanceShareShare this articleCopy linkX iconX (Twitter)LinkedInFacebookEmailCrypto's value is from being outside regulatory apparatus, says Arthur HayesAll that matters for bitcoin’s value proposition is fiat liquidity, said Arthur Hayes, CIO of Maelstrom, at Consensus Miami 2026. By Ian Allison|Edited by Stephen AlpherUpdated May 5, 2026, 3:51 p.m. Published May 5, 2026, 3:12 p.m. 2 min readMake preferred on What to know: Bitcoin has value because it exists outside the regulatory apparatus, said Arthur Hayes.There’s a lot of talk about tradfi and regulators and crypto coming together and having this “bastard child.”Miami, FL — Crypto doesn't need regulation – something that charting the price of bitcoin over successive U.S. governments clearly shows, according to the provocative co-founder of BitMEX and CIO of Maelstrom, Arthur Hayes.Hayes’ thesis is simple: fiat liquidity – precisely, the printing of more units of fiat money – is the only thing that affects bitcoin’s value proposition.“If you want to talk about the price of Bitcoin and what's the fair value, or what's the future price, all that matters is how many units of fiat are there today,” Hayes told the audience at Consensus Miami 2026. “How many units of fiat will there be in the future, and what's the pace of this fiat creation?”While there’s a lot of talk about tradfi and regulators and crypto coming together and having this “bastard child,” the majority of people who attend conferences like Consensus want only to see the number go up, Hayes said. But they forget what has made the price of Bitcoin go from from zero to however many trillions of dollars that it's worth today, he added, hammering his thesis home:”The more money that is printed in the U.S. and around the world, the more value that bitcoin will have in fiat currencies," said Hayes. "And it's this liquidity part of the equation that really drives the price of bitcoin, and not anything to do with politics.”Few executives in crypto maintain …

Crypto's value is from being outside regulatory apparatus, says Arthur Hayes

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