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Bitcoin’s slide may signal broader market trouble and a U.S. recession, Mike McGlone Says

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Bitcoin’s slide may signal broader market trouble and a U.S. recession, Mike McGlone Says

Bloomberg Intelligence macro strategist Mike McGlone said Monday that collapsing crypto prices may signal broader financial stress, warning bitcoin could revert toward $10,000 and potentially foreshadow the next U.S. recession.

In a post on X, McGlone also said the long-standing “buy the dip” mentality that has supported risk assets since 2008 could be breaking down as digital assets weaken and volatility dynamics shift.

After climbing back to $70,841 by 07:00 UTC on Feb. 15 from $65,395 late on Feb. 12, bitcoin was hovering around $68,800 by mid-morning. The broader crypto market was also in the red Monday, with 85 of the top 100 tokens posting losses. Privacy-focused coins monero and zcash were down 10% and 8%, respectively over the past 24 hours.

“Healthy Correction is what we should hear soon from stock market analysts (who risk unemployment if not onboard), following collapsing cryptos,” McGlone wrote. “The buy the dips mantra since 2008 may be over.”

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McGlone pointed to several macro indicators that reflect elevated risk conditions. U.S. stock market capitalization relative to gross domestic product (GDP) has reached its highest level in roughly a century, he noted. At the same time, 180-day volatility in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 is at its lowest level in about eight years, McGlone added.

He also described the “crypto bubble” as “imploding,” adding that “Trump euphoria” has peaked and is contributing to contagion across markets. Meanwhile, gold and silver are “grabbing alpha” at a pace last seen about half a century ago, with rising volatility that he said could “trickle up” into equities.

McGlone shared a chart comparing bitcoin divided by 10 for scaling, with the S&P 500. As of Feb. 13, both were hovering below 7,000 on his graphic. He said that “volatile and beta-dependent” bitcoin is unlikely to stay above that level if broader equity beta weakens.

The Bloomberg analyst identified 5,600 on the S&P 500, equivalent to roughly $56,000 for bitcoin under his scaling, as an initial “normal reversion” level. Beyond that, part of his base case calls for bitcoin to revert toward $10,000, contingent on a peak in the U.S. stock market.

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McGlone’s outlook splits opinion

Jason Fernandes, co-founder of AdLunam and a market analyst, told CoinDesk that McGlone’s thesis assumes market extremes must resolve through collapse and that bitcoin’s equity beta guarantees a proportional crash.

“That’s false equivalence and single-path bias,” Fernandes said. “Markets can also resolve excess through time, rotation, or inflation erosion. A macro slowdown could mean consolidation or a $40,000 to $50,000 reset, not a systemic unwind to $10,000.”

Fernandes added that a move toward $10,000 would likely require a true systemic event, including sharp liquidity contraction, widening credit spreads, forced deleveraging across funds and a disorderly equity drawdown.

“That implies recession plus financial stress, not just slower growth,” he said. “Absent a credit shock or policy mistake that drains global liquidity, that kind of collapse remains a low-probability tail risk.”

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How 50 Million Iranians Are Circumventing the Telegram Ban Using VPNs in 2026

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Brian Armstrong's Bold Prediction: AI Agents Will Soon Dominate Global Financial

Key Points

  • Despite years of government restrictions, millions of Iranians continue using Telegram through VPN technology
  • Pavel Durov, Telegram’s co-founder, reports that approximately 50 million users in both Iran and Russia rely on VPNs to bypass blocks
  • A complete internet shutdown was enacted across Iran in January 2026 amid escalating tensions with Israel and the United States
  • Citizens have turned to alternative connectivity methods including Starlink satellite internet and BitChat, a mesh messaging platform operating via Bluetooth
  • During Nepal’s 2025 social media restrictions, BitChat recorded 48,000 downloads before protesters successfully overthrew the government

Years after implementing a nationwide prohibition on Telegram, Iran’s censorship strategy has spectacularly failed to achieve its objectives.

This assessment comes directly from Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov, who revealed on Friday that millions of Iranian citizens continue accessing the messaging platform by leveraging virtual private network technology.

VPN services function by redirecting internet data through international servers, effectively masking users’ actual geographic locations and enabling them to circumvent regional blocking measures.

According to Durov, Tehran’s strategy aimed to migrate the population toward government-sanctioned messaging platforms that authorities could easily surveil. The outcome proved to be the exact opposite—a widespread embrace of privacy-enhancing technologies.

“The government hoped for mass adoption of its surveillance messaging apps, but got mass adoption of VPNs instead,” Durov stated.

His estimates place Iran’s VPN user base at approximately 50 million individuals. A comparable number of Russian citizens are employing identical circumvention methods.

Complete Network Shutdown Across Iran

The digital landscape in Iran deteriorated further in January 2026 when authorities implemented a comprehensive internet shutdown. This drastic measure coincides with intensifying regional hostilities involving Israel, the United States, and Iran, with the blackout continuing indefinitely.

Despite these severe restrictions, portions of the population maintain internet connectivity through alternative channels. One prominent workaround involves Starlink, the orbital internet service operated by SpaceX. While Iranian authorities have officially prohibited Starlink usage, enforcement remains incomplete.

Another emerging solution is BitChat, an innovative application that operates independently of traditional internet infrastructure. The platform establishes mesh networks through Bluetooth connections among proximate devices. Each smartphone functions as a node, transmitting messages to other BitChat-enabled phones within signal range.

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This architecture allows BitChat to maintain functionality even when conventional internet services and satellite connections face complete disruption.

BitChat Emerges as Protest Communication Tool

BitChat has previously demonstrated its utility during government-imposed internet shutdowns.

When Nepal implemented social media restrictions in September 2025 amid widespread demonstrations, BitChat experienced a surge exceeding 48,000 installations within Nepal during that week. Protesters successfully removed the Nepali government from power during the same month.

Madagascar witnessed a comparable increase in BitChat adoption during concurrent protest movements.

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Durov characterized this technological shift as digital defiance, referring to what he described as “50 million members of the digital resistance in Iran.”

The comprehensive internet blackout initiated by Iranian authorities in January 2026 remained active at the time of Durov’s Friday statement.

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Former UK Chancellor Behind 2022 Economic Crisis Pivots to Bitcoin Leadership Role

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Brian Armstrong's Bold Prediction: AI Agents Will Soon Dominate Global Financial

TLDR

  • Kwasi Kwarteng’s tenure as UK Chancellor lasted only 38 days in 2022 when his emergency budget caused gilt market collapse and pension fund turmoil
  • He acknowledges the emergency budget was “very, very rushed,” implemented merely two weeks into his tenure
  • Kwarteng cautions that the UK faces a dangerous fiscal cycle where government spending outpaces revenue and tax increases stifle economic expansion
  • He condemns short-term thinking in both political and financial spheres, noting the UK lags behind cities like Paris in digital asset adoption
  • He now serves as executive chairman of Stack BTC, a British bitcoin treasury firm holding 31 BTC, where Reform UK leader Nigel Farage owns 6%

Kwasi Kwarteng’s name appears in the record books for all the wrong reasons. His 38-day stint as UK Chancellor during September 2022 ranks among the briefest in British history. Today, he’s re-emerged in the public sphere with a dramatically different focus: cryptocurrency and his critique of conventional financial systems.

Kwarteng assumed his position on September 6, 2022. Within 48 hours, Queen Elizabeth II passed away. This tragic event condensed his timeline considerably. His economic team subsequently rushed through an ambitious emergency budget in a mere fortnight after assuming office.

“The mini budget was literally two weeks after we took office, it was just very, very rushed business,” Kwarteng acknowledged during a recent CoinDesk interview.

The consequences arrived swiftly and severely. British government bond yields surged dramatically. Sterling plummeted. The turmoil revealed critical vulnerabilities within the nation’s pension infrastructure, particularly affecting Liability-Driven Investment strategies that buckled under market stress.

Kwarteng maintains his policy objectives were sound. However, he doesn’t dispute that implementation was deeply flawed.

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UK Trapped in a Fiscal Doom Loop

He’s currently sounding alarms that the UK confronts challenges far greater than a single mishandled budget. According to Kwarteng, Britain finds itself caught in a destructive fiscal “doom loop.”

Government expenditure consistently exceeds tax collection. To bridge this deficit, authorities increase taxation. Yet elevated tax burdens dampen economic activity, suppress growth, and paradoxically reduce total revenue. The vicious cycle continues.

“You’re spending more money than you can raise in taxation,” he explained, emphasizing that increasing taxes “kill incentives in the economy.”

He also criticized the mindset pervading politics and finance. “Everything’s quarterly driven, people are either euphoric or freaking out,” he observed. He contends that sound decision-making demands extended time horizons.

Kwarteng highlighted the UK’s sluggish approach toward digital assets. Throughout his Treasury service, he noted that civil servants recognized bitcoin but dismissed it as marginal. He drew comparisons with Paris, which he characterized as “quite forward leaning on digital assets.”

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He also rebutted remarks from former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who labeled bitcoin a “Ponzi.” Kwarteng advocated for greater receptiveness toward emerging monetary systems.

Stack BTC and the Political Angle

Kwarteng currently chairs Stack BTC as executive chairman, a publicly-traded British bitcoin treasury enterprise. The organization presently maintains 31 bitcoin in its reserves.

The venture has garnered political notice. Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage has acquired a 6% ownership position in Stack BTC.

Stack BTC operates under ticker symbol STAK. It represents part of an expanding cohort of British enterprises developing bitcoin treasury frameworks comparable to American counterparts.

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Kwarteng’s transition into cryptocurrency aligns with his overarching thesis that myopic political decision-making has compromised the UK’s position, and that more resilient, long-duration monetary instruments might provide enhanced stability.

Stack BTC’s holdings currently stand at 31 BTC, with Farage’s ownership interest confirmed through the company’s latest regulatory filings.

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Solana (SOL) Faces Heavy Selling Pressure as $110M Flows to Exchanges

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Brian Armstrong's Bold Prediction: AI Agents Will Soon Dominate Global Financial

Key Highlights

  • Approximately 1.40 million SOL tokens—worth roughly $110 million—transferred to exchanges within a 72-hour period, signaling potential sell-side pressure.
  • A bear flag pattern breakdown on daily charts has invalidated a critical market structure level near $85.
  • Immediate support is established at $77, while a failure at this zone could expose the $66–$70 range.
  • The 4-hour chart shows a bearish SMA crossover, with the 20-period moving average slipping beneath the 50-period line.
  • Meanwhile, Solana’s ecosystem growth remains robust, with real-world asset tokenization crossing $2 billion and SoFi deploying enterprise banking infrastructure on the blockchain.

Solana (SOL) is experiencing heightened downside risk following substantial token movements to centralized trading venues, compounding an already fragile technical landscape. Currently hovering between $79 and $81, the cryptocurrency has declined approximately 2.95% over the last seven days.

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Solana (SOL) Price

Blockchain analytics specialist Ali Martinez identified approximately 1.40 million SOL tokens migrating to exchange wallets during a three-day span. This transfer represents roughly $110 million in value moving onto trading platforms. Historically, elevated exchange inflows correlate with imminent selling activity as holders position to liquidate assets.

Technical analysis reinforces the bearish narrative. Analyst Crypto_Scient observed a confirmed breakdown from a bear flag formation on the daily timeframe, with price action violating the pivotal market structure transition level at $85. This threshold had previously delineated bullish from bearish control, and its breach suggests vulnerability to additional downside pressure.

Further deterioration appears on the 4-hour chart, where a bearish moving average crossover has materialized—the SMA-20 crossing beneath the SMA-50. This configuration typically precedes extended declines. Trading activity now occurs below a significant supply zone, indicating market acceptance of reduced valuation.

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Critical Support Zones Under Scrutiny

Near-term demand has emerged around the $77 level, which has functioned as temporary support during recent trading sessions. Should this floor collapse, market observers anticipate a test of secondary support spanning $63 to $67.

Trader Marcus Corvinus highlighted that the $92–$95 region previously served as a robust defense zone, but concentrated selling at those levels propelled SOL into the current $75–$78 range. He characterized this area as pivotal, where price behavior will likely dictate the subsequent directional move. A breakdown could accelerate losses, whereas a successful defense might trigger a violent short covering rally.

The primary support band is positioned between $66 and $70, consistent with projections from Crypto_Scient. Any recovery attempt toward $84–$89 may constitute merely a retest of broken structure rather than a genuine trend reversal.

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Fundamental Developments Persist

Notwithstanding price deterioration, Solana’s infrastructure continues attracting institutional adoption. SoFi recently unveiled an enterprise-grade banking platform constructed on Solana’s blockchain, facilitating both fiat currency and stablecoin settlement. The network’s real-world asset tokenization volume has exceeded $2 billion, with major payment processors leveraging Solana for stablecoin transaction processing.

Analyst Crypto Patel emphasized that Solana has received commodity classification from regulatory authorities, establishing it within a favorable compliance framework. The digital asset currently trades approximately 77% beneath its historic peak valuation.

Market commentator RoccobullboTTom identified sustained long-term accumulation occurring between $75 and $85. A decisive reclaim above $100 would transform the momentum profile, establishing $120 and $125 as subsequent resistance objectives.

A $285 million security breach affecting Drift Protocol and impacting 20 projects has contributed to near-term caution across the ecosystem.

Daily trading volume maintains robust levels exceeding $1.68 billion, demonstrating continued market engagement despite downward price movement.

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Drift Protocol Exploit Took ‘Months Of Deliberate Preparation’

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Drift Protocol Exploit Took 'Months Of Deliberate Preparation'

Drift Protocol, a decentralized cryptocurrency exchange (DEX), says the recent exploit against the platform was a six-month-long, highly coordinated attack.

“The preliminary investigation shows that Drift experienced a structured intelligence operation requiring organizational backing, significant resources, and months of deliberate preparation,” Drift said in an X post on Saturday.

The decentralized exchange was exploited on Wednesday, with external estimates putting losses at around $280 million.

It all began at a “major crypto conference”

According to Drift, the attack plan can be traced back to around October 2025, when malicious actors posing as a quantitative trading firm first approached Drift contributors at a “major crypto conference,” claiming to be interested in integrating with the protocol.

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Source: Drift Protocol

The group continued to engage contributors in person at multiple industry events over the following six months. “It is now understood that this appears to be a targeted approach, where individuals from this group continued to deliberately seek out and engage specific Drift contributors,” Drift said.

“They were technically fluent, had verifiable professional backgrounds, and were familiar with how Drift operated,” Drift said.

After gaining trust and access to Drift Protocol over six months, they used shared malicious links and tools to compromise contributors’ devices, execute the exploit, and then wiped their presence immediately after the attack.

The incident serves as a reminder for crypto industry participants to remain cautious and skeptical, even during in-person interactions, as crypto conferences can be prime targets for sophisticated threat actors.

Drift flags a high probability of a Radiant Capital hack link

Drift said, with “medium-high confidence,” that the exploit was carried out by the same actors behind the October 2024 Radiant Capital hack.

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In December 2024, Radiant Capital said the exploit was carried out through malware sent via Telegram from a North Korea-aligned hacker posing as an ex-contractor. 

Source: Dith

“This ZIP file, when shared for feedback among other developers, ultimately delivered malware that facilitated the subsequent intrusion,” Radiant Capital said.

Drift said it is “important to note” that the individuals who appeared in person “were not North Korean nationals.”

Related: Naoris launches post-quantum blockchain as quantum security risks gain attention

“DPRK threat actors operating at this level are known to deploy third-party intermediaries to conduct face-to-face relationship-building,” Drift said.

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Drift said that it is working with law enforcement and others in the crypto industry to “build a complete picture of what happened during the April 1st attack.”

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