Gate News Report, March 7 — Maelstrom co-founder Arthur Hayes said in an interview that investors may be underestimating the risk of the current Middle East conflict escalating or continuing. He pointed out that the global markets have not fully priced in the possibility of a long-term US-Iran war. If energy flows are disrupted, a chain reaction could occur, leading to rising oil prices, inflation pressures, and increased market volatility, which could transmit to the global economy. Additionally, Hayes believes that crises related to artificial intelligence are quietly emerging, with AI potentially rapidly reshaping the labor market by replacing many knowledge workers, including lawyers, bankers, accountants, and analysts. If this transformation happens quickly, households may struggle to repay existing debts, potentially leading to widespread credit crises. Hayes stated that the global financial system’s response to crises has always been consistent—injecting liquidity. “Bitcoin is essentially just a liquidity smoke detector.”