Arthur Hayes on Why Tariffs Will Be Good for Bitcoin and Crypto - Ep. 813

TradFi and DeFi markets are in motion, responding to Trump’s tariffs, but a giant injection of liquidity could be on the way.

Maelstrom CIO Arthur Hayes provides his expertise on economic policy, macro movements, and political implications, delving into a variety of topics, including:

• Trump’s rationale for tariffs
• The possibility of a “fiat liquidity bonanza” and what it means for crypto
• What the Hyperliquid brouhaha reveals about decentralization dreams
• How Ethena might be an attack on Ethereum
• The value prop of Circle’s IPO
• Future price expectations for BTC, ETH, and SOL

Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com

• Bitwise
• HRF

• Arthur Hayes, CIO of Maelstrom
• Previous appearances on Unchained:
• How Arthur Hayes Has Prepared His Portfolio for the Elections

Previous coverage on Unchained:

• Trump Tariffs Sink Crypto, BlackRock Pumps Bitcoin’s Bags
• Why Trump-Induced Stagflation Could Finally Make Bitcoin a Safe Haven

Tariffs, Hyperliquid, and $1 million Bitcoin

• Arthur Hayes on X: Tariffs = money printer goes brrrr
• Arthur Hayes on X: Is Trump trying to trigger a mini financial crisis?
• Arthur Hayes on X: CZ and Star ‘gang up’ on HyperLiquid
• Kevin Zhou on X: Binance and OKX listing $JELLY sets a precedent
• DL News: Arthur Hayes on the one reason that tariffs can’t stop Bitcoin’s surge

Trump pardon:

• CFTC.gov: Federal Court Orders BitMEX’s Three Co-Founders to Pay a Total of $30 Million for Illegally Operating a Cryptocurrency Derivatives Trading Platform and Anti-Money Laundering Violations | CFTC (May 2022)
• Justice.gov: Southern District of New York | Global Cryptocurrency Exchange BitMEX Fined $100 Million For Violating Bank Secrecy Act | United States Department of Justice (Jan 2025) 
• CNBC: Politics Trump pardons three BitMEX crypto exchange co-founders, and ex-employee 

Timestamps:

👋0:00 Intro

😰 4:07 Does Trump’s tariff rationale make sense?

💲 10:49 The upcoming “fiat liquidity bonanza” and what it means for crypto

🫤 20:18 What’s wrong with a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve?

💥 24:20 The Hyperliquid brouhaha and the decentralization pipe dream

💪 32:04 Why Binance and OKX “fatal blow” on Hyperliquid didn’t work

⚖️ 37:57 Trump’s pardon of Hayes and his visit to Mar-a-Lago

👀 46:27 How Ethena’s Converge chain affects Ethereum

🤼‍♀️ 52:58 SOL vs ETH: Which is a better buy right now?

😬 57:12 Hayes’ opinion of USDC’s Circle filing for an IPO

🤔 1:00:18 How does Hayes suss out potential investments?

📈 1:03:11 Price predictions on BTC, ETH and SOL

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