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Arthur Hayes Warns of “Stealth QE” as U.S. Liquidity Quietly Expands

Wed Nov 05 2025

BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes says the U.S. is running stealth quantitative easing through the repo market — a hidden liquidity wave that could fuel Bitcoin’s next bull run.

Arthur Hayes Says “Stealth QE” Is Already Fueling the Next Bitcoin Rally

The BitMEX founder claims U.S. liquidity injections are quietly happening through the repo market — setting the stage for Bitcoin’s next parabolic phase.

⚡ Quick Facts

🏦 Stealth QE: Hidden liquidity via the Fed’s repo operations
💰 Mechanism: Treasury debt issuance → Hedge fund leverage → Fed support
📉 Bond Stress: Short-term auctions tightening liquidity
₿ Implication: Bitcoin could surge once hidden liquidity resumes flowing

🧩 The Hidden QE Nobody Talks About

Arthur Hayes — the outspoken BitMEX founder and macro commentator — believes the U.S. government has already restarted money printing. It’s just happening quietly.

In his latest analysis, Hayes argues that “stealth QE” is unfolding through the repo (repurchase agreement) market, where hedge funds borrow cash against Treasuries to finance government debt.

“The U.S. government has chosen to borrow rather than raise taxes,” Hayes wrote. “Foreign central banks are buying gold, not dollars — and domestic savings can’t fund new bond issuance. That leaves hedge funds and the Fed as the real buyers. That’s where stealth QE begins.”

While the Fed isn’t officially buying bonds, its repo liquidity support effectively injects dollars into the system — expanding the money supply without announcing quantitative easing.

🔍 How “Stealth QE” Works

Hayes outlines a four-step mechanism that mirrors the effects of traditional QE:

Treasury floods markets with new debt issuance.
Foreign and commercial banks pull back from buying U.S. bonds.
Hedge funds step in, using repo leverage backed by Treasuries.
The Fed backstops the system with liquidity to keep repo rates stable.

“When the Fed supports the repo market, it’s injecting money into the system. That money inevitably flows into risk assets — including Bitcoin.”

According to Hayes, this “indirect money printing” could reignite the same liquidity wave that pushed Bitcoin to record highs in 2020–2021.

💵 Macro Pressures, Hidden Relief

Recent stress in U.S. bond auctions and a temporary government shutdown triggered liquidity tightening, but Hayes sees that as temporary. Once those pressures fade, he expects repo liquidity injections to resume — quietly pushing up risk assets.

He warns that the U.S. faces a structural trap:

Spending keeps rising.
Tax revenue lags.
Foreign buyers are exiting.

That means the Fed must increasingly rely on domestic financial engineering — stealth QE by necessity.

“The market will rebound sharply once stealth QE kicks in,” Hayes said. “That’s when Bitcoin will surprise everyone again.”

📈 What It Means for Bitcoin

Hayes believes that while investors fixate on ETFs and Fed meetings, the real catalyst for Bitcoin’s next rally is already forming beneath the surface. Liquidity is expanding — just unofficially.

Once stealth QE scales, he expects Bitcoin to reclaim its momentum, driven by renewed risk appetite and capital rotation back into digital assets.

This isn’t about headlines or hype. It’s about math, liquidity, and quiet intervention — the same invisible forces that powered every major Bitcoin cycle.