Arthur Hayes, co-founder of Bitmex and CIO of Maelstrom, predicts that equity perpetuals will dominate the trading landscape by 2026. Hayes argues that traditional finance must embrace perpetual futures to avoid becoming obsolete, as these products offer continuous access and concentrated liquidity. He highlights the rapid adoption of crypto-native structures over legacy derivatives, suggesting that exchanges not updating their collateral and clearing models will fall behind. Hayes also notes that U.S. political developments could bolster the global adoption of perpetuals through 2029. He emphasizes the need for traditional financial institutions to modernize in response to the accelerating shift towards perpetual futures.