Bloomberg's Mike McGlone has recently published a social media post predicting a significant downturn for Bitcoin, the flagship cryptocurrency. He foresees a "devastating downward spiral" for Bitcoin, with a potential target of $10,000, even after a waypoint at $50,000 in 2026. McGlone suggests that the year 2025 may have marked the definitive peak for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, signaling an impending catastrophic "reversion to the mean" in the coming year.

McGlone is convinced that Bitcoin will not find a floor at $50,000, viewing this price point merely as a temporary stop on its way down. His mean reversion target of $10,000 is significant because it represents the approximate price level Bitcoin held before the speculative fervor that began in the post-2020 era. The Bloomberg analyst attributes the price appreciation since then largely to "excess liquidity," suggesting that a drop to $10,000 would signify a "return to normal" market conditions.

A core part of McGlone's argument revolves around the concept of scarcity, contrasting it between gold and cryptocurrencies. He posits that gold possesses fundamental scarcity, not just due to mining difficulty, but also because it has only three primary precious-metal competitors in the physical world: silver, platinum, and palladium. In stark contrast, McGlone argues that Bitcoin, while being the first cryptocurrency in 2009, now faces competition from millions of other digital assets. He characterizes the broader crypto asset class as "inflationary and infinite," believing that this "oversupply of crypto assets" ultimately dilutes the capital flowing into the space.

Interestingly, McGlone has not always maintained a bearish stance. For several years, he was recognized as one of the most prominent institutional voices forecasting Bitcoin's inevitable climb to $100,000. During periods of economic stimulus, he was notably bullish, asserting that Bitcoin was maturing into a global reserve asset. However, by 2025, McGlone completely abandoned the "digital gold" narrative. He started highlighting a "divergence" where gold was achieving new all-time highs while Bitcoin struggled to maintain its momentum.

This shift in his perspective is deeply tied to his current macroeconomic outlook. McGlone believes the global economy is entering a "deflationary recession," an environment where "cash is king." This economic forecast underpins and justifies his "uber-bearish target" for Bitcoin, suggesting that in such a climate, highly speculative and abundant digital assets would be particularly vulnerable.