Crypto May Face a Major Downtrend Around Trump’s Inauguration: Arthur Hayes

The ongoing bullish crypto market trends triggered by Donald Trump’s recent presidential election victory may be shortlived, according to Arthur Hayes, the co-founder and former CEO of crypto exchange BitMEX.

In his latest article, Hayes noted that the crypto market may face a significant downtrend around January 20th, the same day Trump will be inaugurated as the 47th United States President. Here’s why he projects such a market turnout.

Hayes Expects a “Harrowing Dump”

During his campaign earlier this year, Trump won the hearts of most crypto community members with his digital asset-oriented promises.

These included replacing the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman Gary Gensler with a pro-crypto individual, eliminating Bitcoin taxes, making the U.S. the world’s crypto capital, and creating a national BTC stockpile. As of this writing, the Republican president-elect has begun fulfilling some of these vows, such as selecting Paul Atkins as Gensler’s replacement.

In his latest article, titled Trump Truth, Hayes stated that the president-elect cannot quickly make policy modifications upon inauguration as crypto investors anticipate. The BitMEX co-founder explained that most U.S. elected legislators commence campaigning by the end of 2025 ahead of the November 2026 mid-term elections. As a result, Hayes projects that Trump could begin any policy change after one year.

As crypto investors realize this toward January 20th, the market could face what Hayes describes as a “harrowing dump.”

“The market will instantly wake up to the reality that Trump has at best one year to enact any policy changes on or around January 20th. This realization will lead to a vicious sell-off in crypto and other Trump 2.0 equity trades. [. . .] Investors are setting themselves up for severe buyer’s remorse,” he wrote.

A Glimmer of Hope

Toward the end of his article, Hayes stressed that there is a possibility that the bull market will continue after Trump’s inauguration.

Whether or not the crypto market continues its bullish trends on the said date, the BitMEX co-founder explained that he is committed to buying the “dips and rips” of Bitcoin and other crypto assets.