Bitcoin will soar to new heights—touching $150,000 this year—before altcoins then rally, BTC billionaire and outspoken crypto mogul Arthur Hayes recently said.

And investors will have the monetary authorities in the U.S. to thank for that, the former BitMEX boss said in an interview at last week’s Token2049 conference in Dubai. 

According to the crypto entrepreneur, inflation is likely to continue, too—which investors have argued will be good for assets like Bitcoin.

“I think that the setup is perfect for a rally on risk assets, just like we saw in the third quarter of 2022 until early 2025,” Hayes told the Crypto Banter channel on YouTube.

“We have a similar setup today: We have a lot of fear, uncertainty, and doubt in the markets,” he said. “The monetary authorities—especially in America—cannot handle that, so they’re going to resort to money printing.”

Bitcoiners often tout the cryptocurrency as a hedge against what they deem to be the irresponsible central bank monetary policy of printing cash. In the past, Bitcoin has done well when the Fed has lowered interest rates and flooded the market with cheap money.

Bitcoin was recently trading hands for $96,230, rising 1.5% over the past day, according to CoinGecko data. The Federal Reserve on Wednesday decided to keep interest rates still, leading to a small price jump in crypto markets. 

Fresh capital has entered the Bitcoin space since the approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds early last year. The investment vehicles, which trade on stock exchanges, allow ordinary people to buy shares via brokerage accounts that track the price of Bitcoin. 

Hayes, who the crypto-friendly President Trump pardoned in March, added that he thought Ethereum and Solana would also rally following an expected rise in Bitcoin’s price later this year. 

That said, Hayes last year described his short-term market prediction strategy accuracy as “pretty shit”—so take that for what it’s worth.

Edited by Andrew Hayward