BitMEX co-founder and Maelstrom Investment Chief Arthur Hayes, commenting on the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s July meeting, urged investors to buy heavily discounted tokens in the decentralized finance sector. According to Hayes, the regulator’s actions are creating conditions for accumulating DeFi assets with proven business models.
“The Fed has given permission to buy beaten-down DeFi shitcoins with proven market demand,” Hayes wrote.
Fed’s Interest Rate Decision
A day earlier, the Federal Reserve kept the federal funds target range unchanged at 3.5–3.75%. The regulator confirmed that the Open Market Desk would continue purchasing Treasury bills and, if necessary, other government securities with maturities of up to three years, helping maintain sufficient liquidity reserves in the banking system.
Hayes interpreted this policy as a factor that could increase liquidity in financial markets and pointed out that, under such conditions, DeFi projects that have already gone through a deep correction but still maintain healthy protocol economics could become attractive investment opportunities.
How to Choose What to Invest In
Hayes clarified that his recommendation does not apply to all tokens in the sector, but only to those that demonstrate proven market demand — meaning they have real users, stable revenue, and a working monetization model rather than demand driven solely by market hype.
This approach aligns with a trend that has become increasingly prominent in the crypto industry in recent months: market participants are increasingly evaluating DeFi protocols based on usage, revenue, and sustainable revenue streams rather than speculative expectations.
Analysts typically classify lending protocols, decentralized exchanges, and on-chain derivatives platforms that generate regular fees as segments that meet these criteria.