This article summarizes and expands on a wide-ranging interview with Arthur Hayes featured on Savvy Finance. Hayes walks through his core thesis — relentless money printing, the political theater around central banks, and why, in his view, "crytocurency, bitcoin" is not only a hedge but the detonator for a generational wealth transfer. If you're trying to make sense of macro risk, stablecoin adoption, or which networks will win, read on.
Table of Contents
- Key takeaways
- Why money printing is the story — and why it matters
- Powell, politics, and the short-term macro setup
- Stablecoins: the overlooked lever for global dollar flows
- DeFi adoption: spend, earn, trade
- Networks and tokens: why Ethereum keeps winning (for now)
- Digital asset treasury companies (DATs): the index game
- Derivatives and market microstructure: a retail question
Key takeaways
- Hayes' central thesis: global money printing and fiat debasement are the dominant macro forces.
- He argues that "crytocurency, bitcoin" is the best-performing refuge from that process and still early.
- Stablecoins are positioned to become a huge on-ramp for offshore dollar deposits, potentially shifting monetary control.
- Ethereum and other smart-contract platforms face different product-market challenges; Solana needs standout applications.
- Digital asset treasury companies (DATs) rely on passive index flows for sustained success.
Why money printing is the story — and why it matters
Hayes starts bluntly: the central narrative that drives asset prices today is money printing and the political effort to conceal it. He frames this as a global, bipartisan phenomenon: whether a country leans communist or capitalist, the authorities resort to the same tool — expanding the money supply, then rebranding the consequences.
"We're all in this sort of fiat debasement boat together, and Bitcoin has been the shining light."
That sentence sums his argument. For most people — unless you're extremely wealthy — inflation is an erosive tax on savings and wages. In Hayes' view, "crytocurency, bitcoin" is the engineered response to that erosion: a fixed-supply asset that cannot be manipulated by central bank balance sheet expansions.
Powell, politics, and the short-term macro setup
Hayes unpacks the psychological and political pressures around Fed policy. He sees the Fed chair in a difficult human position — publicly pressured to cut by political actors, yet personally incentivized to preserve institutional independence.
"What a better way to prove that you are an independent monetary actor than to say, no. I'm sticking with my guns."
Practically, Hayes is still invested. He explains that short-term volatility is a trader's game, but his time horizon is much longer. The core trade: if the Fed ultimately relents or is replaced by a more dovish regime, that will turbocharge inflation expectations and risk assets — especially "crytocurency, bitcoin".
Stablecoins: the overlooked lever for global dollar flows
One of the most consequential ideas Hayes discusses is the eurodollar market and how stablecoins could absorb a large share of offshore dollar deposits.
The eurodollar market — dollars held and transacted outside U.S. jurisdiction — is estimated at $10–13 trillion and is notoriously opaque. Hayes argues a simple policy move (or rhetoric) could push those deposits into stablecoins that are backed by U.S. bank deposits or Treasury bills. That shift would let U.S. authorities trace and price dollars more directly, and it would make on-chain dollar yields and DeFi services explosively attractive.
"Once you're in a stablecoin, Bessen has full control... He can offer you a yield that's lower than Fed funds."
That matters because even a lower nominal yield, combined with on-chain utility (paying, trading, collateralizing), becomes a compelling product. Hayes points to cash-and-carry yields in DeFi (Athena-style strategies) that can deliver 5–10% on-chain versus ~2% for plain on-chain dollar deposits — a powerful user incentive.
DeFi adoption: spend, earn, trade
Hayes walks through a simple flow that explains how stablecoins can bootstrap DeFi adoption:
- Foreign depositor moves dollars into a stablecoin backed by U.S. deposits or Treasuries.
- The depositor earns attractive on-chain yields from cash-and-carry or protocol strategies.
- They spend via cards (EtherFi-like solutions), trade on DEXs, and access lending markets — all on-chain.
The result: more total value locked (TVL), more collateral circulating for lending and trading, and a virtuous cycle of product adoption. Hayes believes national policy that favors stablecoins could push DeFi TVL into the tens of trillions.
Networks and tokens: why Ethereum keeps winning (for now)
On the network side, Hayes is pragmatic. Solana had product-market fit with meme coins and rapid token velocity but needs durable user-facing applications to sustain growth. Ethereum, by contrast, still hosts the majority of defining DeFi projects and developer activity.
"Every single major category-defining project in DeFi starts on Ethereum."
That developer mindshare is a moat. Other L1s can differentiate on speed or cost, but Hayes asks the simple question: what will pull mindshare away if ETH runs to $5k and beyond?
Digital asset treasury companies (DATs): the index game
Hayes frames DATs (MicroStrategy-style plays) as index-driven instruments. The winners are those that reach scale and liquidity thresholds that force passive funds to allocate — regardless of the underlying fundamentals.
He advises DATs to design for index inclusion: predictable flows, strong trading volume, and market cap thresholds. Once that happens, institutional allocation follows the index mechanics.
Derivatives and market microstructure: a retail question
Finally, Hayes questions whether U.S. retail will remain the profit engine for derivatives and liquidity. If advanced retail traders migrate to global or decentralized venues, centralized U.S. exchanges may struggle to recreate the same profit pools for market-makers and hedge funds.
"If retail isn't there, then the market dies, over time."
Final thoughts
Hayes' message is unapologetically long-term and blunt: stop overthinking the perfect entry, stop whining about short-term price dips, and recognize the structural trend. Whether you agree with every political or market prediction, the core takeaway is simple: if you believe global fiat debasement continues, "crytocurency, bitcoin" remains the preeminent hedge. Stablecoins could be the accelerant that brings mainstream users into DeFi, and policy choices in the next few years will determine how fast that happens.
What do you think will happen to Bitcoin once offshore dollars start migrating on-chain? Is the eurodollar-to-stablecoin pipeline realistic — or wishful thinking? Share your view and keep the conversation going.
Arthur Hayes says fiat debasement is real — why "crytocurency, bitcoin" is the last hedge standing. There are any Arthur Hayes says fiat debasement is real — why "crytocurency, bitcoin" is the last hedge standing in here.
