Macroeconomic outlook and money printing
US policymakers could potentially lift cryptocurrency prices by printing more money to finance government debt and support artificial intelligence, according to Arthur Hayes, chief investment officer at the Maelstrom fund. Speaking at a fireside chat during the CONNECT by Cointelegraph: Seoul Edition event at Korea Blockchain Week, Hayes noted that AI companies require trillions of dollars for data centers even as service prices decline. He stated that policymakers have few alternatives other than printing money to make the situation less severe.
Hayes also discussed a potential shift in China toward substantial monetary stimulus to revive demand for scarce assets, while mentioning that he is monitoring financial stress in France, including credit-default swaps linked to BNP Paribas and French government bond spreads.
Wall Street's move onchain and the role of intermediaries
As traditional financial institutions move onchain, banks and asset managers bring existing customer bases that give them an advantage over companies building investor networks from scratch. Catrina Wang, general partner at Portal Ventures, noted that whoever owns the customer relationship controls the economics. Meanwhile, R3 co-founder Todd McDonald emphasized the need to reach customers where they are and where they will be in the future, noting R3's collaboration to connect institutions to Solana's public blockchain.
Despite early industry goals to eliminate middlemen, Justin Kugel of World Liberty Financial suggested that intermediaries remain necessary because many users prefer not to manage their own assets or assess every investment, seeking instead the protection offered by centralized entities.
Stablecoins, yield, and global trade
Financial firms are also addressing how payment tokens interact with investment income. Chetan Karkhanis of Franklin Templeton stated that the firm does not plan to issue its own stablecoin, but rather aims to serve as the yield layer by providing tokenized money market funds alongside payment tokens. Franklin Templeton previously announced a partnership with MoonPay to allow eligible institutional investors to move between stablecoins and tokenized money funds via onchain transactions.
Haonan Li, co-founder and CEO of Codex, reported rising demand for stablecoin payments along trade routes connecting Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa with Asia, used to pay for manufactured goods flowing from east to west.
Considerations for corporate crypto treasuries
Companies adopting crypto treasury strategies must ensure they have excess cash to commit over longer periods without disrupting operations. Ilya Podoynitsyn, co-founder and CEO of FinHarbor, warned against replicating other firms' strategies without evaluating balance sheets and liquidity needs. Furthermore, Michael Camarda of SharpLink discussed balancing share repurchases and additional Ether purchases to increase ETH holdings per share, noting that institutional investors often focus on holdings per share while retail investors respond to headlines regarding large crypto purchases.
