Maelstrom Investment Chief Arthur Hayes Predicts 'AI Financial Crisis,' Says It Will Send Bitcoin To A New Record High

Core Viewpoint - Arthur Hayes, Chief of Maelstrom Investment, predicts an impending financial crisis driven by AI, which he believes will lead to significant job losses among U.S. knowledge workers and ultimately push Bitcoin to new record highs [5]. Group 1: Market Outlook - Hayes suggests that Bitcoin may face short-term challenges, potentially consolidating or dropping below $60,000 as market conditions worsen [1]. - The equity market is showing signs of this shift, with declines in software-as-a-service stocks and the SPDR Consumer Discretionary ETF, while discount retailers like Walmart are seeing stock increases [1]. - Bitcoin's recent divergence from the Nasdaq 100 is viewed as a warning signal of a liquidity crunch, as the asset has historically been sensitive to liquidity changes [3]. Group 2: Economic Impact of AI - An analysis by Hayes estimates that AI could render 20% of the U.S.'s 72.1 million knowledge workers jobless, leading to $557 billion in credit and mortgage losses and a 13% equity drawdown for the banking industry, which he compares to the 2008 Financial Crisis [4]. - The crisis triggered by AI is expected to compel the Federal Reserve to engage in massive quantitative easing, which could be beneficial for perceived risk assets like Bitcoin [5]. Group 3: Current Bitcoin Status - Bitcoin is currently trading just below $65,000 and has experienced a 26% decline so far this year [6].