Hayes, the founder of the cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX, said he sees crypto as an important asset for consumers to own as a hedge against risk from the traditional banking system.

“I don’t care if you’re capitalist or a communist. Everybody put on a lot of debt. We’ve passed the point where that debt is becoming useful,” Hayes said during an interview for a recent episode of the gm from Decrypt podcast. “And therefore everyone is going to take an 'L' unless they get some crypto or some gold—some hard asset that’s outside of the traditional banking system.”