Arthur Hayes, co-founder of the BitMEX cryptocurrency exchange, is warning of dire consequences as regulatory approval for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) is pending.
The concern is that traditional financial asset managers like BlackRock could dominate the spot Bitcoin ETF market, potentially undermining Bitcoin (BTC).
In a Dec. 22 blog post, Hayes highlighted the risks of these companies holding “all the Bitcoin in circulation.” If that happens, he says overly successful ETFs managed by traditional asset managers could ultimately lead to the decline of cryptocurrencies.
Hayes argues that BlackRock and similar firms “empty assets, store them in metaphorical vaults, issue tradable securities, and charge management fees for their ‘hard work’.”
“They don’t use what they have on behalf of their customers. “This is a problem for Bitcoin if we take extreme views on possible futures,” he added.
The public may choose Bitcoin ETF derivatives instead of buying and holding Bitcoin directly, which could impact the use of the Bitcoin blockchain, Hayes says.
Hayes speculated on a future where Bitcoin would only be stored in vaults, and miners would no longer receive income due to lack of network usage. He warned that this scenario could lead to the death of the network and the demise of Bitcoin.
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Hayes also pointed to Bitcoin’s 228% growth since 2020, arguing that Bitcoin is outperforming most traditional assets. This growth signals BTC’s dominance as a hedge against declines in fiat currency values, he added.
Hayes advised investors to avoid permission-based DeFi projects, tokenized real-world assets, and governance tokens tied to debt yields.
Before writing his latest blog post, Hayes took to social media to reveal that he had shifted his investments from Solana (SOL) to Ether (ETH), despite criticizing Solana and even predicting that the token could hit $100. It has been revealed. Current rally.
With Solana outperforming Ether during the current cryptocurrency market resurgence, Hayes appears to be bucking the trend by switching to ETH.
Nonetheless, Hayes expects Ethereum to reach $5,000, surpassing the previous high of $4,800 achieved in November 2021.
It’s worth noting that Hayes has previously been critical of Solana, even expressing a scathing review of the project when it acquired its tokens in November.