On February 21, BitMEX co-founder and Maelstrom’s Chief Investment Officer, Arthur Hayes, revealed eight altcoins he believes will experience significant growth as the crypto bull season draws near. His lineup includes dYdX, GMX, Flare, Pendle, Krav, Elixir, Ethena, and Axelar.
Low-Cap Gems With Strong Storyline
In his latest Substack post, Hayes stated that Maelstrom has strategically invested in and holds confidence in these altcoins as key components of its cryptocurrency portfolio.
Hayes noted that he and the Maelstrom team support these new, low-cap gems because their narratives resonate strongly in the market.
dYdX, for instance, allows crypto investors to trade perpetual contracts of digital assets on its decentralized platform. With growing scrutiny surrounding centralized crypto operations, Hayes sees the dYdX platform as a viable alternative that enables perpetuals trading with zero censorship.
Flare also captures Hayes’ attention, given its key role in providing access to high-integrity data from other blockchain networks.
The Pendle blockchain protocol, meanwhile, is a high-end DeFi platform that grants access to fixed and flexible yields on locked tokens and several others.
Concurrently, Hayes also announced that he is considering redesignating himself as the Chief Story Officer (CSO), shifting away from the CIO role he holds at Maelstrom.
In his decision, Hayes stated that the story surrounding blockchain projects is much more important than the technology tools used in building them.
“Chief Story Officer” is an essay on why the tech in #crypto doesn’t matter, and my story telling process.https://t.co/qLyVAcEwuf pic.twitter.com/gBg4ybbed1
— Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) February 21, 2024
To Hayes, tech is just a tool, while a compelling story can propel a blockchain protocol into the spotlight.
Explaining his story analogy, he stated that a project requires a blend of both macro and micro-story roadmaps to create something that becomes prominent.
Consequently, a compelling narrative surrounding a project can swiftly change its growth trajectory from ‘never’ to ‘maybe.’
As an investor, this type of narrative shift can create a significant profit windfall as a disregarded project becomes an established one.
Altcoins Offering Strong Decentralized Options
While the highlighted altcoins have a growing narrative, Hayes also identified the unique value proposition they bring to the Web3 ecosystem.
He mentioned that in the upcoming months, one of the macro and micro-stories he will explore is the shift in retail derivatives trading volume from centralized exchanges (CEX) like Binance to decentralized exchanges (DEX).
The projects he will cover include DEX perpetual platforms dYdX, GMX, and an unknown challenger.
In the field of ETH staking, Hayes stated that he will cover Pendle as a surge in interest swap rates picks up in the staking ecosystem. Additionally, he will touch on Elixir’s DEX on-chain liquidity services that eliminate the need for market-making firms.
Another altcoin, called Krav, which operates a DEX quanto service that leverages the power of shitcoins, will also make its way into the storyboard of Maelstrom’s prospective CSO.
Furthermore, a stablecoin platform called Ethena that operates independently of the traditional finance (TradFi) framework will be covered.
Hayes concluded by emphasizing his focus on leveraging his storytelling skills to address the cross-chain bridging of digital assets without needing a blockchain bridge.
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