At Consensus 2026, Arthur Hayes defended the long-term future of altcoins, arguing that crypto markets will continue producing new speculative and innovative projects despite high failure rates. He rejected the growing belief that institutional adoption and regulation will eventually eliminate most altcoins from the market.
He stated:
“Altcoins will never die.”
While acknowledging that most crypto assets eventually fail, Hayes compared the altcoin market to the traditional stock market, arguing that most publicly traded companies also fail over long periods.
According to Hayes, crypto markets create an efficient environment for experimentation, innovation, and capital formation. He said investors should think of tokens similarly to software startups, where many projects fail but a smaller number generate significant long-term value.
Hyperliquid Is Hayes’ Biggest Altcoin Bet
Among his largest altcoin positions, Hayes highlighted Hyperliquid and Zcash. He said he remains highly bullish on Hyperliquid because decentralized trading applications have historically been crypto’s most successful business model.
He explained that trading platforms created some of the largest fortunes in the crypto industry and described Hyperliquid as the latest evolution of decentralized leveraged trading infrastructure. Hyperliquid improved upon earlier decentralized exchange models by combining fast technology with a strong token structure.
Bitmex CEO noted that approximately 97% of protocol revenue is directed back to token holders through buybacks and emphasized that the project did not include a venture capital allocation. He predicted the HYPE token could reach $150 by August.
He also praised Hyperliquid’s ability to offer 24/7 leveraged trading across crypto and traditional financial assets, including oil, the Nasdaq, and the S&P 500, particularly during periods when traditional markets are closed.
Hayes Sees Growing Demand for Privacy Coins
On privacy-focused cryptocurrencies, Hayes argued that growing connections between governments, large technology firms, and advanced artificial intelligence systems will make blockchain activity increasingly easy to monitor and analyze.
As a result, he believes privacy-oriented cryptocurrencies like Zcash could become increasingly important.
Hayes said:
“There is a role for private cash on the internet.”
According to Hayes, demand for financial privacy will continue growing as AI systems become more effective at tracking and de-anonymizing blockchain transactions.
Throughout the discussion, Hayes maintained that altcoins remain an essential part of crypto because they allow developers and entrepreneurs to experiment with new ideas in an open financial system.