Arthur Hayes, founder of cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX, said that despite Wall Street pouring billions of dollars into crypto, individual investors still have significant earning opportunities.
Speaking at a chat session held as part of crypto events in Singapore, Hayes argued that institutional investors are having difficulty accessing the most popular crypto projects.
“It’s very difficult for many fund managers to invest in the hottest crypto projects. You need to be familiar with using the technology yourself, which is something they don’t want to do,” he said.
Hayes also noted that security habits pose a hurdle for institutional investors. He noted that basic security measures like two-factor authentication or strong passwords have become second nature to this investor base, saying, “Phishing attacks are very common in the sector. A $50,000 annual employee clicking the wrong link could cost funds a year's worth of returns. That's crypto.”
Meanwhile, institutional companies are gaining momentum in the space. Major fund managers like BlackRock and Franklin Templeton have deployed approximately $5 billion in tokenized funds that can be traded on the blockchain. Mike Novogratz's Galaxy Digital also began issuing company stock on Solana and Ethereum shortly after listing on Nasdaq.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)'s regulatory streamlining efforts are also supporting this process. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins announced in August that “Project Crypto” would see markets move from off-chain to on-chain.
Hayes argued that central banks will continue to print money rather than risk an economic contraction, which could trigger a price increase in all financial assets, including crypto:
“Nobody is ready to tighten their belts. They don't want to cut credit, accept a contraction in economic activity, or lose votes at the ballot box. So they always end up printing money.”
According to Hayes, opportunities beyond the purview of institutional investors are still open to individual investors:
“There are great opportunities in DeFi and yield farming. Institutions won't be able to penetrate these ecosystems as deeply as individual investors. They just want to put in some fiat and earn more fiat, that's all.”
*This is not investment advice.