Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX and CIO of Maelstrom, has addressed accusations that he used his followers as exit liquidity for several altcoins, citing a macro shift he calls “AI jitters” as the primary driver. Simultaneously, SkyBridge Capital’s Anthony Scaramucci and Galaxy Digital’s Mike Novogratz forecast a Bitcoin surge back to $70,000 by late July 2026, fueled by U.S. debt inflation and impending regulatory clarity.
In an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph, Hayes responded to on-chain investigator ZachXBT, who alleged that Hayes publicly endorsed HYPE, NEAR, ZEC, and WLD shortly before selling his entire positions. Hayes drew a firm line between reporting his own trades and offering financial advice. “I’m not a money manager for anyone other than myself. I’m not a financial advisor. I never claimed to be,” he said, challenging ZachXBT to find a single post where he explicitly told followers to buy or sell.
Hayes explained the rationale behind the rapid exits. He pointed to “AI jitters,” noting that approximately $1.5 trillion in AI-related debt was issued from 2022 to 2026, with 75–80% concentrated after 2025. This liquidity, he argued, was absorbed by the AI trade rather than flowing into crypto, explaining Bitcoin’s stagnation since October 2025. Three specific risks drove his decision: rising energy costs from U.S.–Iran tensions constricting Strait of Hormuz flows, which could raise AI token costs; U.S. politics, where Trump may campaign against AI companies to woo undecided voters; and a supply wall of expected trillion-dollar AI IPOs (SpaceX, Anthropic, OpenAI) around September that could drain further liquidity.
Despite the sell-off, Hayes remains bullish on Hyperliquid (HYPE), calling it “one of the best products ever made in crypto” and noting its valuation multiple is still below major exchange stocks. The Zcash exit, however, was a matter of trust after an Orchard Pool bug — Hayes demanded formal verification that no unauthorized minting occurred before he would consider re-entering. He also outlined a post-AI-bubble scenario where either emergency money printing or a financial crisis benefits Bitcoin, leading him to favor tokens with clear revenue, paying clients, and profit redistribution like Hyperliquid.
On a separate podcast, Scaramucci declared, “I just think because it's burnt out and the sentiment is so negative that any incremental buying will lift it through 70,” referring to Bitcoin reclaiming $70K by July 2026. Novogratz gave a 70/30 probability if regulatory clarity emerges by July 10, citing his extensive Capitol Hill meetings. Both men emphasized the $40 trillion U.S. national debt as an inflationary catalyst that inevitably strengthens the case for hard assets like Bitcoin. Novogratz described the strategy as “the trickiest game macroeconomics can play,” warning that eroding confidence could propel inflation far beyond targets. He also addressed Michael Saylor’s recent Bitcoin sell-buy pattern, framing it as a liability management misstep but underscoring Saylor’s unwavering conviction in Bitcoin’s long-term trajectory.
