Loading...
Arthur Hayes: How the 2008 Bailout Gave Birth to Bitcoin In an August 23, 2026, interview with Altcoin Daily, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes @CryptoHayes recalled how during the 2008 financial crisis, the U.S. government didn’t directly bail out Bear Stearns but instead facilitated its acquisition by JPMorgan Chase for $2 per share, along with massive loan support—a highly favorable deal for JPMorgan. Later, when Lehman Brothers collapsed, regulators realized they didn’t actually like the idea of a free market. CEOs of major banks rushed to Washington for help and eventually secured around $700 billion in taxpayer bailouts. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs bankers still got their bonuses, while ordinary people lost their homes. Hayes believes that through these bailouts, the U.S. abandoned its commitment to sound money, and Bitcoin emerged as a response to the financial system’s betrayal. Source: Altcoin Daily