As the US Presidential inauguration on January 20, 2025, approaches, former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes has predicted a pessimistic outcome for crypto. In his latest essay, Hayes stated that crypto will see a ‘harrowing dump’ around Donald Trump’s inauguration day.
**Crypto Revolution in the US to Commence Slowly**
Hayes, now managing a family office named Maelstrom, believes crypto policy changes under Trump’s administration will happen gradually. Many crypto investors expect Trump to transform the US political space quickly. However, Hayes claims that no politically acceptable solutions are available for Trump to bring about such change quickly.
“The market will instantly wake up to the reality that Trump has, at best, one year to enact any policy changes on or around January 20th. This realization will lead to a vicious sell-off in crypto and other Trump 2.0 equity trade,” Hayes wrote.
Despite this pessimistic forecast, Hayes is still confident in the crypto market’s potential. He expressed confidence that the current crypto bull market will still experience a boom phase. However, Hayes claims the crypto markets will initially experience a harrowing dump around Trump’s January 20th, 2025, inauguration day.
Hayes added that Maelstrom will position rightly in anticipation of repurchasing some core positions at lower prices in the first quarter of 2025. Hayes believes many crypto holders will sell their tokens earlier in the year based on lack of conviction.
“Knowing this, we are committed to admitting defeat if the bull market steamrolls through January 20th, licking our wounds, and getting back on the bull,” says Hayes.
Hence, he advised investors to buy more Bitcoin if such a dip comes. Thanks to Trump, Hayes claims he now sees the structural deficiencies of the global order. He praised Trump for showing him that owning Bitcoin and crypto is the best way to maximize profit.
**Bitcoin Continues Bullish Momentum**
Intriguingly, the crypto market, particularly Bitcoin (BTC), still benefits from Trump’s win in the US November election. Bitcoin’s price has increased over 50% since Trump’s win, bringing its price from around $68,000 to a record-high of $108,268. As of this writing, BTC trades at $104,133, down 3.15% in the last 24 hours. However, the leading coin is still up 5.29% in the past week and 14.5% in the past month.
Trump’s win has raised anticipation for a drastic change in crypto regulation. The former president has promised to do “something great with crypto,” including establishing a national Bitcoin strategic reserve. The recent surge in spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has also contributed to the rising momentum of Bitcoin. Over the past week, spot BTC ETFs, led by BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC, drew a staggering $2.17 billion in net cash inflows, according to a CNF report.
Expectations are high that Bitcoin will continue to surge in the days ahead. Many market analysts target a $150,000 price for BTC by the end of 2024.