Bitcoin could surpass $1 million if the artificial intelligence (AI) investment boom collapses, according to Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, who spoke through the newsletter platform Substack. Hayes said the investment boom around AI data centers and power infrastructure has the character of a credit bubble, and if the government injects a large-scale money supply to stabilize the financial system after the bubble bursts, bitcoin’s price could surpass $1 million. He noted that funds concentrated in the AI industry could spread into a credit crisis, and liquidity injections by governments and central banks would instead lead to bitcoin strength. Hayes analyzed that current AI investment is closer to a real estate development business relying on enormous borrowing, with financing supplied through banks and the private credit market, so credit could deteriorate rapidly if investment growth slows. He compared the AI bubble to the 2008 financial crisis rather than the 2000 dot-com bubble, saying AI-related loans could burden the entire financial system when data center construction stalls. Hayes predicted the current investment pace is difficult to sustain, with the market reflecting a slowdown from 2027 and side effects emerging in earnest in 2028. He also expressed a positive view on Ethereum, presenting $5,000 as a year-end target price.