Arthur Hayes is the person most commonly referred to as the “Godfather of Crypto Trading” (or specifically the godfather of perpetual/perp trading) in recent coverage.
He co-founded BitMEX in 2014 and is widely credited with popularizing (and helping invent the modern form of) the perpetual swap — the high-leverage, non-expiring futures-style contract that became the dominant product in crypto derivatives trading. That innovation fundamentally shaped how crypto is traded at scale.
In an August 2026 Altcoin Daily interview, the hosts explicitly introduce him as “the godfather of crypto trading” / “godfather of perp trading,” and he acknowledges the nickname. The same framing appears in related clips and discussions around that conversation.
Quick distinction
- Arthur Hayes → “Godfather of crypto trading” / perp trading (BitMEX, derivatives innovation, aggressive macro commentary via Maelstrom).
- Other figures sometimes called “crypto godfather” in a broader sense (e.g., Michael Terpin by CNBC) are more about early investing, PR, and ecosystem building rather than trading mechanics.
Hayes remains active as CIO of Maelstrom and, more recently, CEO of Flop Labs (his AI-agent compute network project).