Hayes said governments, major tech companies, and AI systems are becoming increasingly effective at tracking blockchain activity.
As those tools grow more powerful, he argued, more people will want financial tools that shield their transactions from outside eyes.
Zcash, a cryptocurrency built around transaction privacy, was singled out as one that stands to benefit. “There is a role for private cash on the internet,” Hayes said.
The remarks came during a broader conversation about the future of alternative cryptocurrencies — assets that have repeatedly faced waves of skepticism, especially after sharp market downturns.
Hayes pushed back against the idea that institutional money and tighter regulation will wipe out most of the market. His position was simple: altcoins will keep coming, and some will generate real, lasting value.
Arthur Hayes says altcoins will never die…
Respectfully…
Some of them absolutely need to 
There are 10 million+ tokens fighting for the same liquidity.
At some point the market has to stop funding: AI Inu Elon Pepe GPT 4.0
Hyperliquid Tops His List Of Altcoin BetsHyperliquid, in his view, represents the next step in that lineage — combining fast infrastructure with a token structure he finds genuinely attractive.
One feature Hayes highlighted: roughly 97% of the platform’s protocol revenue flows back to token holders through buybacks. He also pointed out that no portion of the token supply was set aside for venture capital investors — an arrangement that distinguishes it from many other projects.
The Stock Market Parallel Underpins His Case For AltcoinsHayes compared the altcoin space to the broader stock market, where most companies ultimately fail but a handful go on to produce outsized returns.
Tokens, he said, should be thought of like software startups — high failure rate, but worth participating in because of what the winners can deliver.
Featured image from MetaAI, chart from TradingView
