Arthur Hayes, Maelstrom’s Chief Investment Officer and former Bitmex CEO, shares Ethereum’s (ETH) highly optimistic outlook (ETH) and predicts that digital assets could reach a new high of $10,000 by the end of the year.
In a July 23rd blog post, Hayes described ETH as “the biggest hateful code,” comparing current feelings towards Solana following the collapse of FTX, before the meteor rose from $7 to $280 after the collapse of FTX in 2022.
Hayes believes momentum is changing. He points to increased use of Ethereum in its corporate financial strategy and support from major Western institutional players, including Fundstrat’s Tom Lee, as indications of the imminent rally.
He suggested that by increasing institutional trust, investors should be proactive, could lead to market breakouts.
According to him:
“Buy it first and ask questions later.”
cryptopunks may outweigh ETH
Though bullish at Ethereum, Hayes also argued that cryptotopunks nfts could outperform ETH in terms of dollar value.
He reasoned that Ethereum owners are likely to lead their interests to NFTs as status symbols, reflecting broader social actions on wealth and fame.
Hayes asked:
“(NFT) is an Internet status game. The global economy other than food and energy production is a huge status game. Why is the Internet society different?”
This perspective reflects comments from Yat Siu, chairman of the Animoca brand. AnimocaBrands compares NFTs to premium products such as Rolex Watches and Birkin Bags. According to SIU, people mainly buy these items for cultural symbols of identity and belonging, not functioning.
Released in 2017 as one of the first NFT projects on Ethereum, Cryptopunks has achieved legendary status in the world of digital art.
At the market peak in 2021, floor prices for the collection were worth an average of 125 ETH, but during the market winter it fell sharply to a low of 21 ETH.
However, as NFT space has recently enjoyed some form of renaissance, Cryptopunks’ value has skyrocketed to over 20% over the past week, equivalent to $177,000.