Arthur Hayes Slams CLARITY Push – Crypto 'Doesn't Need' Regulation, Only Benefits Centralized Companies

• Arthur Hayes said at Consensus Miami 2026 that the cryptocurrency sector “doesn't need” regulation, arguing that market performance already validates its value.
• According to him, centralized companies support regulation because it benefits their business models.
• Hayes stated that regulatory frameworks do not impact the fundamental effectiveness of Bitcoin or decentralized systems.

BitMEX founder and Maelstrom chief investment officer Arthur Hayes said on Tuesday that the cryptocurrency sector "doesn't need" regulation amid the push to advance the CLARITY Act in the Senate.

Lawmakers are aiming for a bipartisan Senate Banking Committee vote in May. Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks released a compromise on stablecoin yield last week, banning yield functions that are functionally equivalent to a bank deposit while permitting activity-based rewards. Coinbase (COIN) and Circle (CRCL) have backed the deal, urging the committee to move to markup. 

"Crypto needs no regulation, and the price performance is indicative of that," Hayes said during an interview with CoinDesk at Consensus Miami. "People who own centralized companies want regulation… because it benefits their business."

According to him, it's logical that centralized firms would lobby for the CLARITY Act, since it adds regulatory certainty, but he said that the regulation itself has no impact on crypto’s underlying value proposition. “That has no effect on whether Bitcoin or crypto is effective,” Hayes stated.

Where Does Bitcoin’s Value Come From?

Hayes said that Bitcoin's value stems from its operation outside the traditional banking system. "If it were just another fixed supply asset on a bank balance sheet, we wouldn't have this conference right now, because there'd be no point," he stated. 

Hayes pointed to crypto's trajectory as evidence. The CLARITY Act passed the House with a comfortable bipartisan majority in July 2025, but Hayes noted that crypto reached a multi-trillion-dollar market cap well before any of that. "There's been no clarity for years — and yet crypto is worth trillions. What does regulation bring? Nothing — unless there's more money printing," he said. 

Hayes’ Price Targets And Portfolio

He maintained a year-end price target of $125,000 for Bitcoin. BTC’s price rose over 2.3% in the last 24 hours to around $81,600. Retail sentiment around the apex cryptocurrency on Stocktwits remained in ‘bullish’ territory over the past day, while chatter rose to ‘high’ from ‘normal’ levels. This is the first time since January that BTC’s price has been able to break past the $80,000 mark.

He reiterated that his two largest positions outside of Bitcoin are stakes in decentralized exchange Hyperliquid’s crypto token (HYPE) and privacy-focused ZCash (ZEC). He has set a $150 price target for HYPE by August 2026, anchored on the protocol returning roughly 97% of revenue to token holders through buybacks, and called for a $10,000 long-term price target for ZEC.

HYPE’s price rose 6.75% in the last 24 hours to around $44, while ZEC’s price rose 3.6% to around $430 amid the cryptocurrency market rally. However, on Stocktwits, retail sentiment around ZEC rose to ‘extremely bullish’ from ‘bullish’ over the past day, while sentiment around HYPE remained in the ‘bearish’ zone. Chatter also diverged, with message volume around ZEC at ‘high’ levels versus ‘low’ levels for HYPE.

Read also: CIFR Stock Jumps Despite Q1 Earnings Miss – Bitcoin Mining Exit Fuels AI Repricing Story

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