Arthur Hayes: Money Printing Could Push Crypto Bull Market Into 2026

Key Points

• BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes expects global money printing to extend the crypto cycle into 2026, driven by U.S. fiscal expansion and geopolitical instability.

• Hayes argues bitcoin outperforms stocks, housing, and gold once currency debasement is taken into account.

• He urges investors to adopt a multi-year perspective, stressing that patience is key to capturing bitcoin’s compounding edge.

A Bull Market Fueled by Liquidity

Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX and current chief investment officer of Maelstrom, believes the current crypto bull market has further to run — potentially into 2026 — thanks to aggressive government spending and monetary expansion.

Speaking in a recent interview with bitcoin entrepreneur Kyle Chassé, Hayes argued that investors are underestimating the scale of liquidity that could flow into both equities and digital assets as policymakers double down on fiscal stimulus.

He pointed specifically to U.S. politics, suggesting that spending programs tied to President Donald Trump’s second term could accelerate in the coming years. “The real wave of printing hasn’t arrived yet,” Hayes said, hinting that he would only consider partial profit-taking if expectations for liquidity became extreme.

Global Backdrop: Instability and Policy Response

Hayes tied his outlook to a broader reshaping of global power dynamics. With what he described as the erosion of a unipolar world order, he argued that governments are likely to rely even more heavily on fiscal expansion and central bank easing to maintain stability.

Europe also figures into Hayes’ thesis. He raised the prospect of financial strains within the eurozone — including the possibility of a French default — as a potential accelerant for monetary expansion. While acknowledging that such policies eventually carry risks, he maintained that the “blow-off top” of the cycle is still ahead.

Bitcoin Versus Traditional Assets

Turning to markets, Hayes pushed back on concerns that bitcoin has stalled after reaching an all-time high of $124,000 in mid-August. With the cryptocurrency now consolidating around the $116,000 level, he contrasted its trajectory with traditional assets.

• U.S. equities, he noted, remain higher in dollar terms but have not regained their pre-2008 strength when measured against gold.

• Real estate lags on a relative basis as well, with only a handful of mega-cap technology firms consistently outperforming.

• Bitcoin, by contrast, has steadily eclipsed these benchmarks when adjusted for currency debasement.

“Once you frame performance in real terms, bitcoin stands apart,” Hayes argued.

Investor Psychology: The Case for Patience

For Hayes, the biggest risk for crypto investors is short-term impatience. Many expect bitcoin to print new highs week after week, but he suggested this outlook misses the point.

Traditional finance expresses its belief in perpetual money printing by buying bonds on leverage, while crypto investors hold bitcoin as the “faster horse.” In both cases, the thesis is the same: governments will intervene with liquidity when growth falters.

Hayes urged investors to judge bitcoin over multi-year horizons, not daily or weekly moves. In his telling, the true edge lies in compounding outperformance over time, not in chasing every short-term rally.

A Cycle Still in Motion

With liquidity expansion likely to intensify as governments respond to political and economic challenges, Hayes believes the present crypto cycle is far from exhausted. For him, the real test is not whether bitcoin can reclaim its August peak but whether investors can remain patient enough to capture the gains he sees building through the middle of the decade.

As he put it, the crypto bull market may still have two more years to run, propelled by policies that even skeptics agree show little sign of slowing.