Crypto Founder Reveals What Keeps Driving Up The Bitcoin Price

Arthur Hayes has a theory about what controls the Bitcoin price. Speaking during Consensus Miami 2026, Hayes positions that Bitcoin’s value is mostly propped up by the expansion of the fiat money supply across the United States and the rest of the world.

Bitcoin Price Still Comes Down To Liquidity

Speaking at Consensus Miami 2026, the BitMEX co-founder and Maelstrom chief investment officer made a case that most in the audience had likely not expected: that Bitcoin’s entire value proposition rests on a single variable. Interestingly, the crypto industry does not have a control over this variable.

Hayes told the Consensus Miami 2026 audience that the only thing that matters when assessing Bitcoin’s fair value or future price is how many units of fiat currency exist today, how many will exist in the future, and at what pace that fiat is being created. “The more money that is printed in the US and around the world, the more value that Bitcoin will have in fiat currencies,” Hayes said. “And it’s this liquidity part of the equation that really drives the price of BTC and not anything to do with politics.”

The throughline of his entire appearance at Consensus Miami 2026, captured in a YouTube recording of the session, was a consistent refusal to let political and regulatory opinions substitute for what he views as the only honest explanation of Bitcoin’s price movement.

Bitcoin has spent 2026 moving through a difficult macro environment, with traders reacting to Federal Reserve expectations, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, and ETF flows. However, Hayes’ outlook places these all as secondary to a larger monetary cycle where more currency creation increases BTC’s value when measured against those same currencies.

A Price Target Correction

Hayes also appeared to walk back the idea that he is still committed to a $500,000 BTC price target. When asked about the level, he pushed back, saying his forecasts change and that his current target is closer to $125,000. “When did I ever say $500,000? I’m constantly changing my forecasts. Right now my target is closer to $125,000,” Hayes said. “What does Bitcoin need to go up? More money printing. It’s that simple.”

A move to $125,000 would still need a major rally from Bitcoin’s recent trading range. At the time of writing, BTC is trading at $81,527, reaching its strongest level since late January, but it is still 35% below its late-2025 all-time high above $126,000.

Perhaps the most interesting of Hayes’ Consensus appearance was reserved for advocates of crypto regulation. According to the Hayes, Bitcoin’s value comes precisely from its existence outside the regulatory apparatus, and that proposals like the CLARITY Act work directly against the properties that make the cryptocurrency valuable.