- The crypto founder and Maelstrom CIO appeared on a podcast to discuss the macro climate amid US President Trump’s tariff threats.
- They don’t matter at all, Hayes argued.
Trump’s tariffs — on Canadian and Mexican goods, Chinese cars and more — are set to take effect on April 2. Markets have been understandably spooked by the whipsaw set of policies from US President Trump.
But none of that matters, Maelstrom chief investment officer and co-founder Arthur Hayes explained.
Hayes argued that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell showed his cards last week on the subject of tariffs and the domestic monetary policy Powell oversees — and that a round of good news is coming next month for crypto investors.
“The inflationary aspects of tariffs are transitory,” Hayes said during a podcast appearance with Kyle Chasse, quoting from comments made last week by Powell.
That’s all the justification Powell needs to inject more money into the system, Hayes argued.
“Tariffs don’t matter any more to Powell, and they shouldn’t matter as crypto investors,” said Hayes. “If Trump does 50% or he does 2%, it doesn’t fucking matter, because we know that Powell is going to continue to provide the easy monetary conditions that we need to have our portfolios go up in fiat dollars.”
Meaning, potentially, more quantitative easing — good news for risk assets like Bitcoin.
Even if Trump were to slap tariffs as high as 50% driving a big rise in inflation, Hayes said, Powell would counter: ‘No, that’s not inflation. We can still continue to ease conditions.’ “
Earlier this week, Hayes was calling for Bitcoin to hit $110,000 in a reversal from earlier predictions.
Polymarket has odds on various Trump’s tariff actions: A notable 81% chance of European Union tariffs being enacted; a 6% chance of Chinese tariffs being removed by May; and a 22% chance of the same for Canadian tariffs.
Polymarket places 7% chances of Trump’s national wealth fund being operational within the first 100 days.
Chinese tariffs in particular are seen as a potential driver for Bitcoin’s price.
Ahead of next week’s expected tariffs, Bitcoin fluctuated between around $88,000 and $85,000 this week. Bitcoin is currently trading at $85,210.
Andrew Flanagan is a markets correspondent for DL News. Have a tip? Reach out to aflanagan@dlnews.com.
