BitMEX CEO says DeepSeek AI could push investors to global options

BitMex CEO Arthur Hayes says DeepSeek AI, the Chinese counterpart of Open AI, might move investors away from US-based stocks, bonds, and assets to a more global option.

On Jan. 27, Arthur Hayes posted on X saying that DeepSeek might make investors rethink their choices. As of today, when people speak about open-source AI, it is exclusive to America, thanks to OpenAI. Now, as other parts of the world are starting to bring out similar counterparts, Hayes believes, it might push investors to spend their money on global options that the U.S. does not dictate. 

Hayes, who is the CEO of the crypto trading platform BitMEX, also has a background in traditional finance, having worked as an equities trader for Deutsche Bank and Citi before transitioning into the crypto industry.

DeepSeek AI disrupts industry norms

DeepSeek was founded in May 2023 by Liang Wenfeng, a hedge fund and AI expert who is fully funded by Wenfeng’s quantitative hedge fund, High-Flyer. The company is disrupting industry leaders such as OpenAI, Google, and Meta by delivering fast and affordable solutions.

ChatGPT brought in a $20 subscription; DeepSeek’s price point is 20 to 30 times less expensive than its competitor. As of January, the DeepSeek app has taken over ChatGPT in the app store, and within a week of its launch, reports Financial Express. 

For too long, tech giants have advocated that artificial intelligence is hard for the average person to replicate, but that view has been falling out of fashion fast, as per MIT. The ascent of DeepSeek AI may serve as the final nudge toward decentralized financial alternatives like cryptocurrency.

Is crypto the refuge?

Crypto is agnostic to any one country, making it a compelling hedge against market shocks due to geopolitical or U.S. economic conditions. Unlike traditional financial systems, crypto offers borderless access to assets, allowing investors to diversify without being limited by the policies or control of a single nation. 

This trend is already picking up– 47% of traditional hedge funds have included crypto investments in their portfolios, with derivatives being increasingly used to get exposure to these assets, reported Financial News. Furthermore, on Dec. 3, South Korea’s cryptocurrency trading outperformed its stock market, the Korea Stock Exchange, by 22%.

According to a study conducted by Security.org, around 65 million individuals currently invest in crypto—an additional 14% of those without crypto holdings plan to invest in it in the future. For investors, the question is not if this shift will happen—it is how soon.

Despite these developments in the AI sector, Coingecko shows that the total market cap of AI x crypto tokens sits at $36.3 billion, with a drop of over 12% in the last 24 hours.