Arthur Hayes Trades the Bailout After an AI Crash With Bitcoin and Ethereum

BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes has urged traders to take long positions in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) instead of wagering on an AI crash. The recommendation accompanied a slide in CoreWeave's stock.

Hayes says he would not make a bet on AI in either direction. Instead, he expects a rescue worth trillions of dollars and wants to hold assets that could absorb that money.

Arthur Hayes Trades the Rescue, Not the Crash

The comments were posted by Hayes on X.

Is AI finally going to dump? IDK but I wouldn’t bet either way. Instead just trade the eventual multi-trillion dollar bail out. Long $BTC $ETH …

— Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) October 15, 2026

His investment case draws on historical precedent. As he sees it, every major technology rollout ends up overbuilt, crashes and is eventually rescued. He expects the AI data center boom to reach that point around late 2027 or 2028.

When the bailout does arrive, Hayes expects officials to create more money than they did following the 2008 financial crisis.

The new money will need a destination. Hayes contends that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies would soak up that liquidity, and he expects the influx to lift BTC to $1 million or more.

He has little interest in shorting AI, by contrast. His preference is to stay patient for the rescue rather than guess the crash's timing.

The 2020 pandemic rescue supports that thinking. As the Federal Reserve more than doubled its balance sheet, Bitcoin moved from under $5,000 to above $60,000.

In recent months, however, the correlation has weakened. US money supply set a record in August, yet Bitcoin is trading about 35% below its October 2025 peak. The same divergence from BTC prices is evident globally.

His two selections have likewise underperformed most AI stocks during 2026.

Not everyone is convinced a burst is near. Fundstrat co-founder Tom Lee argues AI is more like 1997 than 1999 and sees a bubble peak close to 2033.

AI Debt Fears Test the Bailout Trade

The AI cloud firm CoreWeave dropped 15% one day after CNBC host Jim Cramer identified it as his sole trusted AI cloud pick.

That decline amplified concerns about AI-related debt. In a September newsletter, Hayes described major US insurers as insolvent at market value because of AI debt.

For crypto traders, the discussion is shifting from whether AI stocks fall to who pays if they do. Hayes has made his wager on governments printing the money, with Bitcoin and ETH serving as the hedge.