Bitcoin Price Set for a Boost: Arthur Hayes Bets on an AI Boom Bust

As Bitcoin price slid toward $83,800, $4000 million in leveraged crypto longs were liquidated within one hour. This is a sharp reminder of the risk-off phase, which Arthur Hayes believes could precede an AI-credit bailout and eventual liquidity boost for crypto.

The central tension is that a multitrillion-dollar data-center boom could first pressure risk assets and, if it triggers government intervention, create the excess liquidity that Hayes expects Bitcoin to absorb.

The scale of the buildout makes the financing question consequential. Estimates cited in the report put US AI infrastructure costs between $2.8 trillion by 2030 and $10.3 trillion by 2032, while credit platform Atrium estimates developers have already raised at least $1.3 trillion in debt.

Hayes's concern is not simply that companies are spending heavily. He argues the buildout may leave computing power cheap and plentiful while saddling infrastructure providers with large commitments that depend on AI customers ultimately paying for reserved capacity.

SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic are among the demand sources. Hayes said none makes money, while Columbia economist Stijn van Nieuwerburgh estimated that earning a 10% return on the spending would require $3.7 trillion in annual revenue by 2032.