Bloomberg Intelligence senior commodity strategist Mike McGlone warned that bitcoin could revisit the $10,000 area as part of a broader unwind in risk assets, arguing that crypto remains tied to macro forces including deflationary pressure and rising volatility across markets. In a new interview with crypto commentator EllioTrades, McGlone reiterated his long-standing view that bitcoin could “lop off a zero,” framing it as a macro call rather than a pure crypto-cycle forecast.
Macro-Led Risk Reset
McGlone said bitcoin no longer trades as a detached alternative asset but has been absorbed into the same cross-asset risk regime as equities, commodities, and liquidity conditions. He pointed to sharp moves in energy, metals, and crypto volatility that, in his view, have yet to fully spill into equities—a shift he expects to drive a deeper correction in both stocks and digital assets.
He argued that the next relative winners in a post-inflation, potentially deflationary phase could be in fixed income rather than crypto, with a “bull market in volatility” still in its early stages. “These risk assets have to prove me wrong,” he said, suggesting rallies should be treated with caution until equities correct more meaningfully and stay lower for a sustained period.
Why $10,000 Matters
McGlone did not present $10,000 as a precise cycle low but as a historically significant trading zone. He cited bitcoin’s most heavily traded range from 2019–2020, contending the asset has a history of gravitating toward that level during major resets. “My premise is we’re going back to that level,” he said.
Stablecoins as Structural Winners
Beyond bitcoin, McGlone was blunt about the broader digital-asset sector. He argued that stablecoins stand out as the clearest structural winners because they track the U.S. dollar and Treasury-based collateral, while most other tokens rely heavily on speculative belief. He pointed to the growth of Tether (USDT) and other crypto-dollar instruments as evidence that the ecosystem’s base layer is increasing dollar demand rather than driving sustained appreciation in volatile tokens.
McGlone also cited what he sees as speculative excess in 2024–2025—amplified by memecoins, the advent of U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs, and post-election enthusiasm around Donald Trump—as potential signs of a durable top for the broader asset class.
Counterpoints and Outlook
EllioTrades pushed back on the magnitude of the bearish call and the notion that crypto is effectively “dead,” arguing bitcoin could still reassert itself as a hedge against currency debasement. He added that stablecoin-based commerce, privacy-focused use cases, and a post-washout cohort of surviving projects could lay the groundwork for a future recovery, even if many tokens ultimately fail.
McGlone did not rule out an eventual bottom for crypto markets but maintained that, for now, bitcoin and other digital assets are behaving like risk assets in a bear phase. As of publication, bitcoin (BTC) traded around $69,890, according to TradingView.