Consistent with the volatile nature of the cryptocurrency market, the Bitcoin (BTC) price has been experiencing a string of fluctuations in the past few weeks. Despite the renewed optimism, thanks to Grayscale’s recent victory against the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the price of the premier cryptocurrency has failed to stay above the $26,000 mark.
While many investors and crypto enthusiasts hope for a sustained Bitcoin bull run, some believe the cryptocurrency is already in a bull market. According to BitMEX co-founder and former CEO Arthur Hayes, Bitcoin has been garnering a bullish momentum as far back as March 2023, although the market has “yet to respond.”
Bitcoin Bull Market Began Since SVB’s Takeover, Arthur Hayes Claims
On Tuesday, 5th of September, Arthur Hayes said in his keynote speech at the Korea Blockchain Week that the Bitcoin bull market started on March 10, the day the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) took over Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).
In March, Bitcoinist reported that the United States banking sector was in crisis following the failure of SVB and other banks. In a bid to stabilize the industry and avoid further potential collapses, the Federal Reserve (Fed) introduced the $25-billion Bank Term Funding Program (BTFP) – offering banks loans of up to a year in exchange for “qualifying assets” as collateral.
According to Hayes, the Fed-led BFTP essentially served as a backstop for the banking system, facilitating the exchange of “troubled assets” for fresh and newly minted dollars. He also said the move is an “admission of a flaw in the banking system’s structure, with one of the solutions being to print more money.”
Hayes claims that this increased supply of dollars and shift in monetary policy has pushed investors to consider assets with a fixed supply, such as Bitcoin. “We basically ditched this whole facade that we care about the value of the dollar and the value of any fiat currency,” he said.
Interestingly, BTC’s price performance in the last six months strengthens Arthur Hayes’ argument for an ongoing bull market. According to CoinGecko data, the value of Bitcoin has grown by nearly 27% percent since the 10th of March.
When Will The Broader Crypto Market Catch On?
In his speech, Arthur Hayes also mentioned that the rest of the market hasn’t yet reacted to these developments, but he expects a response within the next six to 12 months.
Additionally, the BitMEX co-founder asserted that Bitcoin would register a positive performance even if the US Federal Reserve and other central banks continued to “print more money or hike interest rates.” Arthur Hayes said:
In both scenarios, whether the Fed raises or cuts, we are in a good position as the cryptocurrency industry.
As of this writing, Bitcoin is valued at $25,732, which reflects a 0.1% price dip in the last 24 hours. According to data for CoinGecko, BTC remains the dominant cryptocurrency, with a market cap of more than $503 billion.
BTCUSDT trading beneath $26,000 | Source: daily BTCUSDT chart on TradingView
