CoinDesk Live at Consensus Miami 2026 | Day 1
Speakers
Arthur Hayes
— CIO, Maelstrom
Adam Back
— Co-founder and CEO of Blockstream
Anthony Pompliano
— Chairman & CEO, Pro Cap Financial
Brad Garlinghouse
— CEO, Ripple
Joe Lubin
— CEO, Consensys
Summary
Day 1 of Consensus Miami 2026 features interviews with key crypto leaders including Arthur Hayes, Brad Garlinghouse, Adam Back, and Anthony Pompliano. The dominant themes are Bitcoin's bullish outlook driven by monetary expansion, Hyperliquid's rise as the leading decentralized exchange, tokenization of equities via the Bullish-Equinity deal, and the growing intersection of AI agents with crypto payments. The event highlights a maturing industry with institutional participation and regulatory progress.
- Arthur Hayes predicts Bitcoin will reach $125k due to increased money printing and shifts to a war economy.
- Hyperliquid (HYPE) is highlighted by both Arthur Hayes and Bob Diamond as a top decentralized exchange with a strong token buyback model and 24/7 trading of traditional assets.
- Adam Back endorses MicroStrategy (MSTR) as a Bitcoin basis trade and discusses quantum-proofing Bitcoin.
- Anthony Pompliano advocates for dollar-cost averaging into Bitcoin as a certainty asset in uncertain times.
- The Bullish acquisition of Equinity for $4.2 billion positions it as a leader in tokenized securities, bridging traditional finance with blockchain.
- Andrew Garlinghouse discusses Ripple's growth and the importance of regulatory clarity (Clarity Act) for the industry.
- AI agents and agentic commerce emerge as a major narrative, with protocols like X42 enabling machine-to-machine payments on base.
- The conference sees a record turnout with increased institutional presence, signaling a more mature and serious crypto industry.
Ideas
Money printing will propel Bitcoin higher.
Bitcoin will rally due to increased money printing from central banks and commercial banks as the global economy shifts to a wartime footing and faces AI-driven deflationary pressures. The Fed and banking sector will expand credit, boosting Bitcoin as a fixed-supply asset. He has a price target of $125,000.
HYPE is the leading DEX with buyback model.
Hyperliquid (HYPE) is the dominant decentralized perpetual exchange with superior technology and a token model where 97% of revenue is used for buybacks, creating strong token value. The upcoming HIP4 binary options will bring more liquidity. He has a price target of $150.
Privacy demand will lift Zcash.
Zcash (ZEC) is a privacy-focused cryptocurrency that will see increased demand as institutions enter the space and individuals seek private cash on the internet. He holds it as a top bag and believes it will outperform.
MSTR is a Bitcoin basis trade.
MicroStrategy (MSTR) is a publicly traded Bitcoin treasury company that acts as a leveraged Bitcoin proxy. He invested early to support Michael Saylor's mission and sees it as a way for Bitcoiners to gain exposure through capital markets.
