According to Hayes, the Federal Reserve (Fed) may be engaging in an indirect form of monetary expansion—one that markets have yet to fully price in.

A “Technical” Program With QE-Like Effects

At the center of Hayes’ argument is a Federal Reserve mechanism known as Reserve Management Purchases (RMP). Officially, the Fed describes RMP as a technical liquidity management tool designed to ensure the smooth functioning of the banking system. Hayes, however, believes the real impact closely mirrors that of traditional quantitative easing.

He points out that under this framework, the Fed is purchasing roughly $40 billion worth of short-term US Treasury bills each month. While the central bank avoids labeling this as stimulus, Hayes argues that the result is the same: fresh liquidity entering the financial system. Unlike previous QE programs, RMP does not appear to have a clearly defined cap or end date, which, in his view, makes it even more supportive for risk assets over time.

“Not QE, Just Money Creation”

Hayes breaks the process down in simple terms. The Fed creates new money and uses it to buy government debt. The institutions selling those bonds then redeploy the newly created capital—either back into fixed income markets, through lending to hedge funds, or into risk assets such as equities and cryptocurrencies. Eventually, that liquidity filters through the broader economy.

From Hayes’ perspective, the distinction between QE and RMP is largely semantic. He describes the mechanism bluntly as the monetary printing press operating at full speed. Once investors begin to recognize this dynamic, he believes Bitcoin could respond aggressively to the upside.

A $200,000 Bitcoin Scenario for 2026

Despite his long-term optimism, Hayes remains cautious in the near term. He expects Bitcoin to remain range-bound between $80,000 and $100,000 through the end of 2025. The main reason, he argues, is that markets are still accepting the Fed’s narrative that RMP is not a form of monetary easing.

That perception, according to Hayes, could change in early 2026. If investors begin to treat RMP as de facto QE, he expects Bitcoin to reclaim the $124,000 level and potentially accelerate toward $200,000 within the first quarter of that year.

Policy Uncertainty as a Market Driver

Recent Federal Open Market Committee decisions underscore the uncertainty surrounding US monetary policy. A 25-basis-point rate cut, combined with visible disagreements among policymakers, highlights a lack of clear direction. Hayes views this uncertainty not as a threat, but as an opportunity for Bitcoin to strengthen its role as a monetary hedge.

As 2026 approaches, the broader message is clear: Federal Reserve policy—whether openly expansionary or not—may play a decisive role in shaping Bitcoin’s next major move.

You can also freely share your thoughts and comments about the topic in the comment section. Additionally, don’t forget to follow us on our Telegram, YouTube, and Twitter channels for the latest news and updates.

The post Has the Fed Quietly Restarted Quantitative Easing? appeared first on Coin Engineer.

What is the Epic Chain?

Project, formerly known as Ethernity Chain, was initially a digital collectibles marketplace on the Ethereum blockchain. However, it faced a market decline due to high transaction fees, limited throughput, and the proliferation of counterfeit tokens. To address these issues, Epic Chain was redesigned as an Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain tailored for the entertainment industry.

Utilizing Optimism’s open-source op-stack, the platform incorporates AI-driven digital rights management with an AI-powered matching engine to verify token authenticity, ensuring the integrity of its content. It also provides user-friendly token creation tools that require no technical expertise. Backed by Ripple and operating in over 150 countries, Epic Chain is rapidly growing as one of the leading Real World Asset (RWA) ecosystems.

The platform aims to bridge traditional finance and decentralized technology by enabling the tokenization of assets like real estate, commodities, and intellectual property. Fanable, Epic Chain’s flagship consumer RWA product, generates over $1.2 million in annual on-chain fees. By integrating with the XRPLedger EVM sidechain, Epic Chain continues to develop products within the XRP ecosystem, delivering fast, scalable, and globally accessible decentralized finance solutions.

$EPIC Token and Tokenomics

$EPIC is the first bridged and bridgeable ERC20 token on the Epic Chain blockchain, evolved from the ERN token launched on Ethereum in 2021. Used in the platform’s digital collectibles marketplace and DeFi products, it offers the following benefits:

• Gasless Transactions: Most transactions on Epic Chain do not require ETH for fees, thanks to account abstraction.

• DAO: Epic Chain is fully operated by a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), where $EPIC holders can vote on the blockchain’s development.

• Carbon Footprint Offset: A portion of $EPIC trading volume is dedicated to offsetting carbon emissions from the blockchain’s energy consumption.

The tokenomics distribution is as follows:

• Private Round: 30.67%

• Team 1: 3.33%

• Team 2: 4.33%

• Team 3: 12.33%

• Ecosystem: 6.00%

• Reserve: 15.00%

• Partnerships: 8.00%

• Staking & Rewards: 12.00%

• Public Sale (Polkastarter IDO): 3.33%

• Liquidity: 5.00%

Project’s DeFi protocol allows users to stake $EPIC to earn other ERC20 tokens and “stones,” which can be used to redeem assets within the ecosystem.

EPIC Vesting

What Can Be Done on Epic Chain?

Project offers a range of tools for creators and brands:

• Simplified Token Creation: Creators can use a drag-and-drop web interface to create a currency or social token in minutes, requiring only a Web3 wallet (e.g., Metamask) with some ETH on Epic Chain. Tokens can be stored in a secure founders’ vault, used to create DAO pages, or integrated into e-commerce pages for asset purchases.

• Digital Collectible Creator: Creators can generate non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in minutes, immediately available for sale in Epic Chain’s digital collectibles marketplace, with trading currency sourced from the social token creator.

• Token Gating: Creators can organize digital and physical events accessible via social tokens or digital collectibles.

• Fanable: Epic Chain’s leading RWA product, dominating the consumer goods sector and generating significant on-chain fee revenue.

• RWA Superstructure: Covers major asset classes like real estate, luxury goods, commodities, tokenized bonds, equities, treasury bills, asset-backed securities, and money market funds. Epic Chain transforms these into on-chain primitives for staking, trading, or instant spending.

Technical Infrastructure and Future Developments

Project leverages Optimism’s op-stack, delivering high throughput with 2-second blocks and low gas fees. The span-batch upgrade reduces gas fees by up to 93%, ensuring sustainability even with low transaction volumes. Blockchain components run in docker containers, with hardware (CPU, RAM, storage) and network bandwidth dynamically scalable. The blockchain state is backed up multiple times daily online and offline, allowing restoration within hours if the primary node provider fails. Future enhancements include AI-driven fraud protection, generative AI for content creation, smart contract optimization, and AI-supported technical development.

Epic Chain (EPIC) Exchanges

The $EPIC token is listed on the following exchanges: Binance, Crypto.com, Bybit, KuCoin, Uniswap, Gate.io, HTX, and MEXC. It is also tradable on decentralized exchanges like PancakeSwap.

Epic Chain Investors and Backers

Epic Chain is supported by prominent investors and backers, including GBV Capital, Kenetic Capital, Polygon Studios, Ripple, Spark Digital Capital, Morningstar Ventures, Woodstock Fund, BlackEdge Capital, Algorand Foundation, Steel Perlot, Thomas Vu, and Michael Rubin. Ripple’s backing strengthens Epic Chain’s integration with the XRP ecosystem, positioning it as a leader in RWA-focused innovation.

Epic Chain Team

The Epic Chain team is led by experienced professionals. Founder Nick Rose Ntertsas shapes the platform’s vision, while Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Evangelos Diamantis oversees financial strategies. This team drives Epic Chain’s mission to advance its entertainment and RWA-focused blockchain ecosystem.

Official Links

• Website
• X (Twitter)
• Whitepaper

You can also freely share your thoughts and comments about the topic in the comment section. Additionally, don’t forget to follow us on our Telegram, YouTube, and Twitter channels for the latest news and updates.

The post What is Epic Chain (EPIC)? appeared first on Coin Engineer.