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ToggleArthur Hayes is not just a prominent entrepreneur in the cryptocurrency industry but also one of the pioneers who shaped the derivative crypto market. As the co-founder of BitMEX – an exchange with trading volumes reaching up to 16 billion USD per day, Arthur Hayes is a symbol of an ambitious and controversial generation of Web3 builders. Who is he? And what makes his journey from a Wall Street trader to a crypto billionaire special? Join Allinstation in exploring the story of the youngest African American crypto billionaire in history!
[The rest of the translation follows the same pattern, maintaining the structure and translating the content to English while preserving any HTML tags.]BitMEX is a peer-to-exchange platform that provides leveraged derivatives contracts bought and sold with Bitcoin, allowing users to bet on the future value of cryptocurrencies with leverage up to 100x. However, BitMEX's initial business was unstable. After providing users with 100x leverage, the trading volume of the exchange quickly increased. In 2018, BitMEX became an exchange trading billions of USD daily and set a record with a trading volume of 16 billion USD in a single day in 2019.
BitMEX's development helped Arthur Hayes, Samuel Reed, and Ben Delo accumulate large assets and become crypto market billionaires. Arthur Hayes was also actively involved in charity, donating millions of USD to scholarship programs and organizations fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. However, BitMEX and its co-founders later faced legal accusations from the US.
Legal Troubles and the Collapse of an Empire
Success came with controversy. In October 2020, the CFTC and US Department of Justice accused BitMEX of violating the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Act and Consumer Protection Act by not registering the exchange legally in the US.
Arthur Hayes was charged with aiding money laundering, avoiding KYC controls, and allowing US users to access BitMEX through VPN. In 2022, he accepted a settlement, paid a $10 million fine, and was placed under house arrest for 6 months, followed by 2 years of probation. Afterward, he left the US and lived in seclusion in Asia.
Arthur Hayes Post-BitMEX: An Influential Thinker
After leaving the CEO position, Arthur Hayes did not disappear. On the contrary, he shifted to becoming an influential financial commentator in the crypto world. His personal blog, frequently followed by many, regularly publishes macroeconomic analyses, market trend predictions, and even "crazy" ideas.
A typical example is the NakaDollar (NUSD) stablecoin project – a stablecoin backed by Bitcoin and derivatives contracts instead of traditional assets like USD or USDT. This is a bold model combining volatile assets and hedging tools to maintain stable value, an audacious idea that only Arthur Hayes would dare to think and propose.
Each NUSD will be backed by 1 BTC and a BTC short contract with a value converted 1:1 to USD like other stablecoins. According to Arthur Hayes, this mechanism helps protect the stablecoin's value in case of Bitcoin volatility. When Bitcoin's price increases, the value of the BTC short contract will help balance this change and vice versa. This creates a dual-backed mechanism that helps NUSD maintain stability and become an effective tool for both investors and those wanting to hedge investments.
Bold Predictions and Current Influence
Although not always correct, Arthur Hayes is still seen as an "inspiration" for the trader community. He accurately predicted Bitcoin's dip in 2022, and most recently, he noted that the crypto market would improve after the lawsuits between SEC and Binance & Coinbase, which actually happened when BTC increased from $25,000 to $31,800.
Currently, Arthur Hayes remains one of the most influential figures in the crypto world. He is not only a pioneer in derivatives trading in this field but also a controversial voice with forward-thinking ideas.
Summary
Arthur Hayes is a typical example of a "big player" in the Web3 space, bold, intelligent, but also controversial. From building the BitMEX empire to market predictions, and now the NakaDollar stablecoin idea, his journey reflects the decentralized, risky, and continuously innovative nature of the crypto world.
Allinstation believes that Arthur Hayes will continue to be closely watched, not just because of his glamorous past, but also because of ideas that could create new waves in the future!
