Debt-Fueled AI Expansion Triggers Credit Crisis Warning, $1M Bitcoin Target

Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, has sounded a warning about the debt-fueled expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure. He believes this could end in a credit crisis similar to 2008, prompting governments to inject liquidity that drives Bitcoin beyond $1 million.

Hayes argues that investors are misclassifying data centers and power projects as high-growth technology rather than leveraged real estate. This has turned the AI buildout from an earnings story into a credit cycle with potentially explosive monetary consequences.

He expects lenders to overfinance construction before weaker borrowers are exposed by a slowdown in capital spending, creating conditions for defaults, bailouts, and renewed currency debasement.

The scale of commitments gives weight to his warning. Big Tech companies have agreed to about $1.09 trillion in leases that have not yet begun, mainly for data centers, almost four times their recognized lease liabilities of roughly $285 billion.