BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes delivered a strong rejection of the CLARITY Act at Consensus Miami 2026 on May 5, arguing that crypto regulation is not only unnecessary but directly contradicts bitcoin's fundamental value proposition. According to crypto.news, Hayes told the audience that 'this is the value that bitcoin provides outside of the regulatory apparatus' and emphasized that 'it's precisely the reason that it does not adhere to the regulatory regime that some of you wish to put it under with bills like the Clarity Act.' The CLARITY Act has cleared the House and Senate Agriculture Committee but must still pass a Banking Committee markup and a 60-vote Senate floor threshold before the May 21 Memorial Day recess, with banking groups continuing to push back against stablecoin yield provisions.
Despite his regulatory stance, Hayes has maintained his aggressive upside target for privacy coin Zcash, telling followers on X that his 'target price for ZEC is 10% of the BTC price'. According to reports from CoinDesk, Hayes added that the current uptrend 'still has a lot of room for growth', signaling he believes the recent move in ZEC is just the early phase of a larger cycle. The 10% anchor implies substantial potential upside relative to current market levels, with Hayes not specifying a timeframe for when he expects ZEC to reach that level.
Hayes presented a simple thesis at Consensus 2026, arguing that 'the only variable that moves bitcoin's price is the total number of fiat currency units in circulation.' As reported by crypto.news, he stated that 'if you want to talk about the price of bitcoin and what's the fair value, all that matters is how many units of fiat are there today.' Hayes positioned this theory in direct contrast to the dominant tone at Consensus 2026, where most industry speakers, including Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, have urged the Senate to advance the legislation quickly. Hayes argued that the CLARITY Act 'primarily serves centralized crypto firms with Washington lobbying operations, not the decentralised ecosystem' that gives the asset class its meaning.
Hayes has long been known for making bold macro and altcoin calls, frequently using his personal X account and essays to lay out high-conviction, high-volatility trades. According to CoinDesk, his latest ZEC comment fits this pattern, leaning into a narrative that privacy-focused assets could see renewed demand if regulatory surveillance ramps up or if Bitcoin's transparent ledger becomes a liability for certain users. Privacy coins like Zcash and Monero have faced delistings on several major centralized exchanges in recent years amid anti-money-laundering scrutiny, even as on-chain usage has persisted in more niche venues.
Hayes's 10% of BTC target is not a consensus view among analysts, and he did not specify a timeframe for when he expects ZEC to reach that level. As reported by CoinDesk, for traders who track his calls, the message is clear: in his view, the current ZEC move is far from exhausted, and the coin's upside, relative to Bitcoin, remains significant if the right mix of narrative, liquidity, and risk appetite comes together. His Consensus 2026 remarks reinforce his belief that regulatory clarity is irrelevant to bitcoin's fundamental value proposition, which he argues comes precisely from operating outside any regulatory system.
