Arthur Hayes, the former BitMEX CEO and a name known to most crypto veterans, believes the altcoin party won’t start until Bitcoin crosses $110,000 — and keeps climbing. In a recent interview with Fortune, Hayes laid out a roadmap for what he sees coming next in the market.
Right now, Bitcoin is trading just below $103,000, still a few steps short of its earlier all-time high of nearly $109,000. But according to Hayes, the real momentum for altcoins won’t kick in unless Bitcoin pushes past $110,000 and moves toward the $150,000 to $200,000 range.
He expects that kind of move could happen as early as June or sometime in the third quarter, depending on liquidity and trading activity picking up again.
But Hayes isn’t painting a picture of another wild 2021-style altseason. This time around, he thinks the rally will look very different. He warned that many of the older coins — what he called “dino coins” — are likely done for. These tokens, often with inflated fully diluted valuations, minimal real users, and no meaningful revenue, aren’t coming back.
“Your portfolio that aren’t moving probably aren’t moving for a reason. I think a lot of those coins have high FDV, low float, no customers, no revenue, just some CEX listings, that went down 95%,” he said bluntly.
When it comes to Ethereum vs. Solana — a debate that never seems to go away — Hayes is still backing ETH. While he acknowledged Solana’s huge run from $7 to over $170, he believes Ethereum’s fundamentals are stronger. It has more developers, the most total value locked (TVL), and better security through its proof-of-stake model. Simply put, he sees Ethereum as the more sustainable long-term bet.
Hayes also reiterated his bold Bitcoin prediction, saying BTC could hit $1 million by 2028, if Donald Trump wins a second term. For this year, he’s eyeing a top around $250,000. That bullish view is tied to his broader take on the U.S. economy.
He’s not impressed with how the U.S. Treasury is handling its finances. Hayes believes the government is spending more than it admits by dipping into reserves and underfunded programs. This, he says, increases dollar liquidity, which ends up being good news for assets like Bitcoin and gold.
Speaking of gold, Hayes revealed that it makes up about 20% of his personal investment portfolio. He holds both physical gold and gold mining stocks, and he expects central banks to keep buying.
In fact, he thinks the U.S. might eventually revalue its own gold holdings as a way to weaken the dollar. His price target? Somewhere between $10,000 and $20,000 by the end of this cycle.
In short, Hayes sees a unique market setup ahead — but it’s not going to be a repeat of the last bull run. Bitcoin has to lead first, and not all altcoins are coming along for the ride.
Also Read: Bitcoin Price will Hit $250K by 2025: Robert Kiyosaki
