Bitcoin bottomed as ‘everyone who could go bankrupt has gone bankrupt’
12 Dec 2022
Former BitMEX CEO thinks the Bitcoin price could have reached the bottom after most of the “irresponsible entities” have all run out of Bitcoin to sell.
Arthur Hayes, the former CEO of crypto derivatives platform BitMEX, thinks the worst might be over for Bitcoin BTC$16,931
this cycle as the “largest most irresponsible entities” have run out of BTC to sell.
“Looking forward, pretty much everyone who could go bankrupt has gone bankrupt,” he said in the Dec. 11 interview with crypto advocate and podcaster Scott Melker.
Hayes elaborates on his stance by explaining that when centralized lending firms (CELs) have financial troubles, they will often call-in loans first, then sell BTC first because it operates as the “reserve asset of crypto” and “the most pristine asset and the most liquid.”
Hayes voiced a similar argument in a Dec. 10 blog post, explaining that while this “credit crunch is ongoing,” large physical sales of BTC are taking place on exchanges from both CELs trying to avoid bankruptcy and trading firms who have had loans recalled and must liquidate their positions.
Following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX, and the subsequent fallout, the market is still deep in the grips of crypto winter, but Hayes believes the market could see some recovery in 2023.