Arthur Hayes (아서 헤이즈), a co-founder of BitMEX, has outlined a plan to turn artificial intelligence computing power into a tradable product through the FLOP network.

On Oct. 27 local time, blockchain media outlet Cointelegraph reported that Hayes proposed a structure to create a spot price for AI compute based on the native token FLOP of Flop Labs, a new network he leads, and expand from there into a derivatives market.

The core idea is to measure the computing power actually provided for each AI inference task and use the transaction data to calculate a FLOP-denominated spot price. Hayes pointed to the lack of a pricing benchmark for AI computing power. If such a structure takes hold, the idea is that AI computing power itself could become a tradable asset like electricity or commodities.

Hayes then said that if it becomes the payment network for AI agents, the "$FLOP/compute exchange rate" could become the benchmark price for global spot compute. The idea is that if a liquid spot compute market forms, derivatives based on that price would also become possible.

The project also ties into Flop Labs' network strategy. Flop Labs is developing a network that lets AI agents pay for computing and decentralized memory services. Hayes previously said, when announcing his appointment as chief executive officer in August, that the company was planning a large airdrop in the fourth quarter of 2026.

A market-size outlook was also presented. Boston Consulting Group, in a report in July, examined how quickly AI computing power could be commoditised and projected that the market could grow to $2.3 trillion by 2030 from $360 billion in 2025. The FLOP plan is seen as an attempt to secure an early position in pricing benchmarks and trading structures for computing power.

Still, the timing of the announcement is also drawing attention as it comes right after Hayes' large-scale cryptocurrency selling. Hayes said he sold all of his holdings in Ethereum, Ethena and Uniswap this week and took profits. He mentioned at the time that macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions were unstable.

In this context, the FLOP plan is closer to a message about designing both AI infrastructure payments and a price-discovery structure than simple token promotion. A key point to watch is whether AI agents can pay for computing resources on the FLOP network, whether those transactions can build a spot price, and whether that can then extend to derivatives.