Gold has quietly outrun Bitcoin by a wide margin — and one Wall Street analyst 
says that gap tells the real story of where markets are headed. Related 
Reading: XRP Faces No Immediate Quantum Threat As Only 0.03% Supply Seen At 
Risk: Analyst Bitcoin&#8217;s ETF Gains Pale Against Gold&#8217;s Run Since the launch of 
US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in early 2024, BlackRock&#8217;s iShares 
Bitcoin Trust helped push Bitcoin&#8217;s price up roughly 50%. Gold, over the same 
stretch, climbed about 135%. That performance gap is central to the argument 
being made by Mike McGlone, senior commodity strategist at Bloomberg 
Intelligence, who says capital may already be moving away from high-risk 
assets toward safer ground. McGlone has been laying out his case through a 
series of posts on X, warning that the explosive run Bitcoin made past 
$100,000 following the arrival of spot ETFs may now be over. Bitcoin is 
currently trading around $72,000. McGlone&#8217;s downside target is $10,000. 
Getting there would require a drop of more than 86%. Bitcoin May be Guiding 
Risk Asset Reversion The launch of US Bitcoin ETFs in 2024 helped push the 
price above $100,000 and may guide reversion back toward $10,000. What&#8217;s 
notable from my graphic is the first-born crypto reaching an apex in 2025 
alongside US stock market… pic.twitter.com/LCKF213Ss4 — Mike McGlone 
(@mikemcglone11) April 9, 2026 Peak Cycle, Not A New Era McGlone traces 
Bitcoin&#8217;s 2025 high of $126,200 to a specific moment in broader market 
history. At roughly the same time Bitcoin hit that peak, the US stock market&#8217;s 
total value relative to the country&#8217;s gross domestic product reached its 
highest point since 1928 — a ratio widely used to judge whether equities are 
overpriced. According to McGlone, that overlap is not a coincidence. He 
describes the conditions that drove Bitcoin&#8217;s rise as a mix of ETF-driven 
inflows, political tailwinds from US President Donald Trump&#8217;s embrace of 
crypto, and what he calls &#8220;peak beta&#8221; — a phase where speculative assets 
briefly surge before falling hard. Reports from his analysis suggest this 
combination created the conditions for a sharp reversal rather than a 
sustained bull run. Bitcoin is also about four times more volatile than the 
S&amp;P 500, according to McGlone&#8217;s data, which he says makes it a difficult sell 
for institutional investors who weigh returns against risk. Capital Rotation 
Raises Questions About Bitcoin&#8217;s Role The S&amp;P 500, on a risk-adjusted basis, 
has outperformed Bitcoin ETFs since their debut. McGlone points to that as a 
sign the ETF launch may have served more as a late-cycle catalyst than a 
structural turning point for the asset class. Based on his analysis, the phase 
he calls &#8220;pump then dump&#8221; — where prices spike and then reverse — may already 
be underway. If that reading is correct, Bitcoin could fall alongside other 
speculative assets while gold continues to attract investors looking for 
stability. Related Reading: XRP Eyes $17 After Massive Breakout—Is A 1,100% 
Surge Next? McGlone stops short of saying exactly when a drop to $10,000 would 
occur. His argument is framed around broader market conditions tightening and 
investors pulling back from risk, not a specific timeline. What he does say 
clearly is that the ETF boom, once seen as a long-term driver for Bitcoin, may 
have already done most of its work. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from 
TradingView

Bitcoin ETF Hype Hits Ceiling, Sharp Drop Risk Emerges: Analyst

Hong Kong has issued its first stablecoin licences, approving Anchorpoint 
Financial and HSBC’s Hong Kong banking arm under the HKMA’s new regime.

Hong Kong grants first stablecoin licences to Anchorpoint and HSBC

VALR has integrated with Onafriq to allow users across the continent to fund 
their wallets using mobile money. Key Takeaways: VALR and Onafriq integrated 
to allow mobile money funding across 43 African markets in 2026. Mobile money 
added $190 billion to GDP in 2023, making this Onafriq deal vital for local 
growth. Over 1.7 million […]

VALR and Onafriq Pioneer Direct Local Currency Funding for African Crypto Users

The CIA plans to integrate specialized artificial intelligence into its 
primary analytics tools to help officers track foreign spies and predict 
hostile actions from abroad. Politico reported that CIA Deputy Director 
Michael Ellis shared these plans during a Special Competitive…

CIA adopts AI “co-workers” to help analysts spot spies and predict hostile moves

Bitcoin (BTC) moved from roughly $67,000 to $72,000 in the days surrounding 
the US-Israel-Iran ceasefire announcement, a 7.5% rebound that reduced 
volatility and lifted sentiment across risk assets. Glassnode&#8217;s Apr. 8 Week 
On-chain report noted that the bounce and stabilization still fit the 
fingerprint of a bear market rebound. BTC still trades inside a bear […]
The post Bitcoin’s rally is still just a bear market bounce unless it reclaims 
this key level appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Cryptocurrency price in ZAR