With institutions looking to break into crypto, Hayes says Dogecoin is too popular for fund providers to ignore.
Regulators will inevitably approve a Dogecoin ETF after both Bitcoin and Ethereum hit US public markets, according to BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes.
During a Sunday interview alongside Real Vision CEO Raoul Pal, the two investors reviewed their favorite meme coin and crypto picks this cycle, as well as the top risks currently looming over the industry.
Why Memecoins Will Keep WInning: Arthur Hayes
According to Hayes, meme coins still have plenty of runway this cycle, with the market bound to get “even crazier” as the Federal Reserve and US Treasury print more and more money.
“For the person who has just been initiated into crypto, it’s literally the easiest thing to understand,” said Hayes. “I don’t need to understand blockchain, and AI, and crypto, and cryptography.”
In a blog post last week, Hayes argued that the time had come to “go long Bitcoin and subsequently shitcoins,” in response to back-to-back interest rate cuts by both the Bank of Canada and the European Central Bank. Historically speaking, low interest-rate environments bode well for stocks and Bitcoin, which causes capital to spill over into the riskier, more volatile memecoin market.
Both Hayes and Pal said they’ve got parts of their portfolio locked up in dog-themed coins including Dogecoin (DOGE), BONK, and dogwifhat (WIF).
The investors also agreed that Dogecoin would receive ETF approval in the United States by the end of the current bull market cycle.
“It’s the oldest memecoin, it’s on Robinhood,” said Hayes. “If you’re thinking about Tradfi getting into crypto and they’re gonna put an ETF on anything they can, it’s a high market cap thing. “
Dogecoin is currently up 136% over the past year. Since launching in December, WIF has mooned by nearly 1600%.
Trends To Watch This Cycle
Regarding other cryptos, Pal said he’s “ninety percent” into Solana, calling it “the right bet to have.” By contrast, Hayes said he predicts that Aptos – the 27th-ranked crypto by market cap size – to flip Solana “in the layer 1 game” within the next 1 to 3 years.
In terms of what to avoid, both men agreed that Cardano is a “narrative of the last cycle,” with Pal also taking a stab at Ripple (XRP).
The men also had similar worries about what could pose major risks to crypto during this cycle.
Both highlighted large centralized venues that control massive sections of the crypto market. Pal expressed concern over Derebit’s 90% market dominance in the options market, while Hayes argued that Coinbase and various banks – which control the Bitcoin backing the world’s largest Bitcoin ETFs – could lose customers a lot of money.
“If I’m gonna hack crypto, I’m going after one of these US custodians – one of these banks,” Hayes said. “Never have they had to custody an asset where if they lose it they can’t call up the Treasury or the Fed and get another bailout.”