‘House of Cards Collapsing’: Arthur Hayes Warns AI Credit Event Could Crash Bitcoin Price

Bitcoin has struggled this year as the artificial intelligence investment boom piles pressure on crypto, even as BlackRock issues a massive $9 trillion prediction. The bitcoin price crash from $126,000 to just over $60,000 has spooked traders, though some are cheering a potential recovery.

Now, closely watched trader Arthur Hayes has predicted an AI "credit event" is about to crash the market and blow up the bitcoin price. Speaking on the Bankless podcast, Hayes said: "If we do get an AI credit event, it will be bigger than 2008 because the whole world is in this delusion that AI is the biggest technology ever… and the Fed can’t [out] print Moore’s Law."

Hayes, cofounder of BitMex, pointed to AI capital expenditure being compared to the pre-industrial revolution railroad build out. Technology companies have poured an eye-popping amount of cash into AI development, with the biggest hyperscalers—Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet—projected to spend a combined $725 billion on AI infrastructure in 2026 alone.

"I don’t care how much money you throw at this thing, you can’t change the fact that chips get better every two years even if you pump $10 trillion into the economy," Hayes said. He predicted that if investors decide AI investment no longer meets its "cost of capital," that money will go "straight" into bitcoin and crypto. "The implosion of the AI bubble and the money printing that’s going to happen… is going to dwarf sub-prime and it’s going to take us to a $1 million bitcoin price."

Update June 19: The bitcoin price has dropped toward $60,000 as major bitcoin buyer Strategy's stretch stock teeters on the verge of collapse. Fear has swept the market as Strategy’s stretch preferred stock fell to a record low of $88 per share, piling pressure on the company. Bitcoin and Strategy critic Peter Schiff posted: "The financial house of cards Saylor built is collapsing." Strategy founder Michael Saylor responded: "Markets are closed today. Volatility is never easy. Bitcoin keeps working. So do we."

Hayes compared the potential AI credit event to Michael Burry's famous bet against the U.S. housing market, saying: "If you time this well, you’ll never work again." Meanwhile, new Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh left interest rates on hold, dropping the easing bias, as inflation remains at a three-year high and payrolls are strong.

Bitcoin, created in response to the 2008 bank bailouts, has traded as both an inflation hedge and high-growth tech stock. Hayes believes the coming crisis will lead to massive money printing, ultimately driving bitcoin to $1 million.