Arthur Hayes thinks the AI investment frenzy will eventually play out like the 2008 housing bubble.

According to him, this will force governments to print trillions in new money that could potentially send Bitcoin (BTC) into another massive bull market.

AI Data Centers as the Next Credit Bubble

In an essay published on August 5, the BitMEX co-founder argued that markets are treating AI infrastructure spending as a high-growth technology investment when it more closely resembles commercial real estate.

He believes lenders, private credit funds and governments are financing a massive buildout of data centers and power infrastructure under the assumption that demand will keep accelerating indefinitely.

According to Hayes, that assumption will eventually break down. He expects the pace of AI capital expenditure growth to slow in 2027 before contracting, exposing companies and investors that borrowed heavily to finance projects.

Unlike the dot-com crash, which he described as an earnings story, the crypto investor said the AI boom is fundamentally a credit story similar to the housing market before the global financial crisis.

He argued that governments would be unwilling to let strategically important AI companies fail because of their importance to national security. Instead, policymakers would respond with large-scale bailouts and liquidity injections that exceed those deployed after 2008.

Hayes said that wave of money creation would eventually spill into crypto markets. “Bitcoin will bottom and begin a secular rise,” he wrote, predicting that panic-driven stimulus could ultimately push the asset to $1 million or higher.

Bitcoin Recovery Fits Hayes’ Long-Term View

Hayes acknowledged that Bitcoin may not have reached its cycle low yet. He suggested the cryptocurrency could continue trading between roughly $60,000 and $70,000, with a possible downside toward $50,000, while capital continues flowing into AI projects before the market begins questioning returns on those investments.

Bitcoin was trading at around $64,000 at the time of writing, up nearly 1% over the previous 24 hours and slightly higher over the past week, according to CoinGecko data. The asset had rebounded from a recent low near $62,000 but remained about 49% below its October 2025 all-time high of roughly $126,000.

The latest recovery has coincided with easing geopolitical concerns. As CryptoPotato reported, Bitcoin climbed back above $64,000 as markets reacted to reports that the United States, Iran and Oman were nearing an interim agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, although analysts noted that a sustained breakout may depend on a permanent deal being reached.

Hayes also outlined a more immediate trade beyond Bitcoin. According to him, Ethereum could benefit from growing institutional interest in tokenized real-world assets, and this could push ETH to around $5,000 before the end of 2026 if that narrative gains traction.

Source: CryptoPotato