Arthur Hayes critiques CLARITY Act’s impact on Bitcoin, urges Trump veto

Arthur Hayes wants Washington to keep its hands off Bitcoin. The BitMEX co-founder and Maelstrom CIO has come out swinging against the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act, arguing that the proposed legislation would do nothing for Bitcoin’s fundamental value and urging President Trump to veto it if it ever reaches his desk. His core thesis is brutally simple: Bitcoin’s price is a function of how much fiat currency exists in the world. Regulations are irrelevant to that equation. Hayes draws a line in the sand Speaking at Consensus Miami in May 2026, Hayes laid out his position with characteristic bluntness. “If Bitcoin and crypto needed regulations to survive, it wouldn’t be worth a dime.” Hayes contends that “institutionalizing” Bitcoin through regulation risks centralizing an asset whose value proposition rests on decentralization. For Hayes, Bitcoin’s value driver is monetary: more dollars printed means each dollar buys less, which means Bitcoin priced in dollars goes up. No act of Congress changes that math. The CLARITY Act’s rocky road through Washington The legislation Hayes is railing against, formally known as H.R. 3633, aims to establish clear jurisdictional boundaries betwee...