Privateness issues tied to synthetic intelligence could also be one of many strongest instances but for proudly owning sure altcoins or cryptocurrencies. That was one argument Arthur Hayes made at Consensus 2026, the place the BitMEX co-founder laid out a broad protection of the altcoin market and named the precise tokens he’s betting on.
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Hayes Sees AI Surveillance Driving Demand For Privateness Cash
Hayes stated governments, main tech firms, and AI methods have gotten more and more efficient at monitoring blockchain exercise.
As these instruments develop extra highly effective, he argued, extra individuals will need monetary instruments that defend their transactions from exterior eyes.
Zcash, a cryptocurrency constructed round transaction privateness, was singled out as one which stands to learn. “There’s a function for personal money on the web,” Hayes stated.
The remarks got here throughout a broader dialog about the way forward for various cryptocurrencies — belongings which have repeatedly confronted waves of skepticism, particularly after sharp market downturns.
Hayes pushed again towards the concept institutional cash and tighter regulation will wipe out a lot of the market. His place was easy: altcoins will maintain coming, and a few will generate actual, lasting worth.
Arthur Hayes says altcoins won’t ever die…
Respectfully…
A few of them completely have to 😭
There are 10 million+ tokens preventing for a similar liquidity.
Sooner or later the market has to cease funding:
AI Inu Elon Pepe GPT 4.0The subsequent alt season received’t save every little thing.… pic.twitter.com/pkx2C3jtt9
— MANDO CT 🇮🇪 🇦🇪 🇬🇧 (@XMaximist) Could 6, 2026
Hyperliquid Tops His Listing Of Altcoin Bets
Of all of the tokens Hayes mentioned, Hyperliquid drew probably the most detailed consideration. He described decentralized buying and selling platforms as among the many most constantly worthwhile fashions in crypto historical past, pointing to the wealth they’ve created for early members.
Hyperliquid, in his view, represents the subsequent step in that lineage — combining quick infrastructure with a token construction he finds genuinely engaging.
One function Hayes highlighted: roughly 97% of the platform’s protocol income flows again to token holders by way of buybacks. He additionally identified that no portion of the token provide was put aside for enterprise capital buyers — an association that distinguishes it from many different initiatives.
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The Inventory Market Parallel Underpins His Case For Altcoins
Hayes in contrast the altcoin house to the broader inventory market, the place most firms finally fail however a handful go on to provide outsized returns.
Tokens, he stated, needs to be considered like software program startups — excessive failure price, however value taking part in due to what the winners can ship.
Based mostly on experiences from the occasion, Hayes framed crypto markets as environment friendly environments for experimentation and capital formation, the place new concepts will be examined and funded exterior conventional monetary methods.
Featured picture from MetaAI, chart from TradingView