in two recent interviews—on the New Era Finance podcast with Michael van de Poppe and on Bankless, according to KuCoin.

The former BitMEX CEO answered a question many crypto investors are asking: why hasn't Bitcoin made a significant leap despite growing institutional adoption and favorable long-term fundamentals?

"Bitcoin hasn't grown because AI has taken all the money. There's no cash left to chase crypto," he said.

According to Hayes, one of the main reasons for Bitcoin's and the crypto market's struggles is that investors have been pouring capital into AI-related projects. He believes that AI has become a dominant investment theme over the past few years, attracting money that would otherwise have gone into crypto. As a result, Bitcoin was left struggling for attention while AI stocks, infrastructure projects, and data center investments absorbed liquidity.

One of Hayes's strongest statements was his warning that the AI ​​boom could ultimately turn into a massive bubble. He argued that enormous amounts of capital have been poured into AI over the past six to seven years. At some point, investors may realize that many of these projects are not generating returns that justify their investments. If this happens, the consequences could be greater than the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis.

"The collapse of the AI ​​bubble will dwarf the subprime mortgage crisis," he stated.

Hayes believes that in the event of an AI-induced financial shock, governments and central banks will respond similarly to past crises—by injecting fresh liquidity into the economy. He predicts that financial authorities will likely print more money to stabilize banks and markets. This wave of liquidity is precisely what he's expecting, calling it a "great seal" deal.

"The initial reaction will be: 'We just need to pump in fiat money,'" Hayes noted.

As soon as investors lose confidence in AI investments, fresh capital will begin to seek a new home, Hayes expects. He believes cryptocurrencies could be one of the biggest beneficiaries of this shift, especially if investors perceive digital assets as a more profitable opportunity than stalled AI projects.

The end result of this chain reaction, according to Hayes, will be a sharp rise in the price of Bitcoin. Although the timeline is vague, he believes that the collapse of the AI ​​bubble followed by aggressive money printing could ultimately push Bitcoin to the $1 million mark. This is one of the most optimistic long-term scenarios currently existing on Wall Street and in the crypto industry.