BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes says the next major Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) rally could come from an unlikely source, an eventual unwind of the artificial intelligence trade.

AI Absorbed Speculative Capital

In a Bankless interview on June 22, Hayes revealed he has reduced exposure to several high-performing tokens, including Hyperliquid, Near and Zcash (CRYPTO: ZEC), after reassessing risk-reward in the AI-led market environment.

Hayes stated he remains "very long Bitcoin as always," but has parked some capital in Treasury bills while waiting for more asymmetric opportunities.

He argued that AI has absorbed the marginal dollar of speculative capital this cycle, limiting upside for Bitcoin and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH).

"AI is the fastest horse and has proven itself to be the fastest horse," Hayes noted, adding that investors chasing debasement hedges have favored AI stocks over crypto.

Why It Matters

Hayes believes the AI buildout may eventually become a larger credit bubble than the subprime crisis, driven by aggressive data-center capex, circular revenue deals and debt backed by fast-depreciating chips.

He added GPUs are being financed on multi-year schedules even though chips improve rapidly, creating a mismatch between asset life and debt assumptions.

If that breaks, Hayes expects authorities to respond with massive money printing.

“The Fed can’t print Moore’s law,” Hayes said. “The implosion of the AI bubble and the follow-on money printing… is going to dwarf subprime and is going to take us to Bitcoin a million or whatever.”

Ethereum, Hyperliquid And Perps

Despite his caution, Hayes called Ethereum one of the cleanest large-cap crypto setups, noting that it remains well below its prior all-time high while Bitcoin and Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) have already reclaimed theirs in earlier rallies.

“If you gave me a dollar fiat capital and said choose one, I’d choose Ether over Bitcoin purely just on a chart perspective,” he said.

Hayes also praised Hyperliquid, calling it a stronger product than many traditional exchange offerings and arguing that perpetual futures are structurally built for retail traders because they offer 24/7 markets and leverage.

However, Hayes mentioned that he personally does not trade with leverage. “The thing is already so volatile.”

Image: Shutterstock