Hayes Asks ‘Forgiveness’ for Calling Ethereum a Shitcoin, Doubles Down on ETH

cryptonews.com:

Former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes apologized for calling Ethereum (ETH) a shitcoin years ago and argued that the Merge is “extremely bullish” for the price of ETH.

In his latest essay, Hayes took a look back at his previous statements on Ethereum, as well as a look forward to discuss the upcoming, long-awaited, and much-anticipated Merge, when Ethereum will switch from the current proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism to proof-of-stake (PoS).

As for the past, he apologized for his earlier statements, saying:

“Readers who have been following my career as an essayist will remember I shat all over the Ethereum pre-sale. I said it was worthless. I was wrong. Please forgive me, o lord!”

He referred to his 2018 essay titled “Ether, A Double Digit Shitcoin”, in which he predicted that the price of ETH would dive below USD 100, saying: “And I was right! For a short while…”

In his words, Hayes “became a believer” in 2020, and he went “long and strong” when he saw a chart depicting how the ETH market capitalization was less than the total market capitalization of all the dapps (decentralized apps) it supported.

“I fervently believe that DeFi offers a credible alternative to the current financial system — and for now, Ethereum is poised to power the world’s financial computer.”

He argued that the Merge is “extremely bullish” for the price of ETH – but also that it has not yet been priced into the market, writing:

“Given all of the forced selling that occurred during the market drop and the poor financial positions that most crypto investors have been left in, the [M]erge does not appear to be priced in– and we have an amazing opportunity to increase Ether positions at very attractive levels.”

Hayes went on to say that he is “more confident