Arthur Hayes, the Founder of BitMEX, Shares His Thoughts on Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and the FED

BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes recently expressed his confidence in the resilience of Bitcoin and Ethereum, which he considers to be the crypto world's two reserve assets, despite global conflicts and rising energy prices. According to Hayes, Bitcoin is the first stop as it is money itself, while Ethereum is the commodity that powers the Ethereum network, the best internet computer. Hayes dismissed other layer-one blockchains like Solana, which claim to be better than ETH, as overhyped and unlikely to surpass Ethereum in terms of active developers, dApp activity, or Total Value Locked.

Hayes also discussed the potential impacts of the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel and the possibility of Iran being drawn into the war. He suggested that any disruption in the flow of oil to the West could make it politically difficult for the FED to take a hands-off approach to monetary policy. In such a scenario, the FED may have to increase interest rates to combat high oil prices, or war and high energy prices could lead to a recession, giving the Fed a reason to lower interest rates. Hayes believes that uncertainty could initially trigger a sell-off in Bitcoin, but he remains optimistic about its performance in wartime, saying, "As we have seen, Bitcoin has proven to outperform bonds in times of war. Even if there is initial weakness, I will buy the dips."