Mike McGlone believes Bitcoin’s weakness below $69,000 strengthens his forecast of a return toward $10,000.
Unlike his earlier warnings, McGlone now considers Bitcoin’s price action evidence that structural catalysts are unwinding.
A fall to $10,000 is possible but would likely require several bearish catalysts to coincide.
Bitcoin’s continued price weakness below $69,000, even as US stocks trade near record highs, has convinced Bloomberg Intelligence strategist Mike McGlone that its decline may be far from over.
Despite McGlone’s months-long warning that Bitcoin could return to $10,000, his latest argument goes beyond exhausted crypto catalysts.
This time, he views Bitcoin’s relative weakness against equities as evidence that the market is already reverting toward its pre-pandemic lows.
Bitcoin’s price was trading near $64,100 on August 18, approximately 49% below the record $126,198 reached in October 2025.
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McGlone Says Bitcoin’s “Faustian Bargain” Is Unwinding
In an August 166 post on X, McGlone described Bitcoin’s current price position as a possible “Faustian bargain unwind.”
“Bitcoin showing comfort below $69,000 … may signal continued reversion toward $10,000,” he wrote.
His argument noted the extraordinary monetary stimulus introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
McGlone said the “biggest money pump in history” helped drive Bitcoin to approximately $69,000 in 2021.
Faustian Bargain Unwind? Bitcoin Under $69,000
Bitcoin showing comfort below $69,000, despite the record-setting stock market, may signal continued reversion toward $10,000. The biggest money pump in history buoyed the first-born crypto to a roughly $69,000 peak in 2021, which… pic.twitter.com/niYGydsmkt
Bitcoin did not decisively revisit that level until US spot exchange-traded funds launched in 2024.
Donald Trump’s reelection later that year—and his pivot toward favorable crypto policies—provided another catalyst, helping Bitcoin move above $100,000, the analyst said.
McGlone believes those events pulled future demand forward.
Now that both catalysts have materialized, Bitcoin needs new buyers to sustain prices that were established under unusually favorable conditions.
McGlone’s chart compared Bitcoin with the Nasdaq-100 Index relative to the S&P 500, intending to show that Bitcoin has behaved like an amplified bet on technology.
If technology stocks begin to lose leadership and Bitcoin continues to follow that relationship, McGlone expects Bitcoin to fall further.
His destination is the 2019–2020 average near $10,000, which he views as Bitcoin’s foundation before pandemic stimulus, spot ETFs, and the Trump-era crypto rally.
The “Faustian bargain,” in other words, is that Bitcoin achieved mainstream legitimacy but became increasingly dependent on the liquidity and political support that delivered it.
Same $10,000 Prediction, but Different Evidence
McGlone’s target is not new.
In December 2025, he argued that nearly every major development investors had anticipated had already happened.
He also claimed that the expansion of the crypto market had weakened Bitcoin’s scarcity narrative.
While Bitcoin’s supply remains capped at 21 million coins, investors can now choose from millions of alternative digital assets.
McGlone subsequently acknowledged that Bitcoin could prove his outlook wrong by holding above $75,000.
Instead, the crypto has fallen below both that threshold and the previous cycle’s peak of roughly $69,00k.
The difference now is that McGlone believes price action is confirming his thesis.
Bitcoin is nearly 50% below its October record, even though major stock indexes have remained comparatively resilient.
However, while institutional demand has weakened on some individual trading days, it has not disappeared.
According to Farside Investors, US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded approximately $617 million in net inflows between August 33 and August 177.
Cumulative net inflows since launch remained close to $52 billion.
McGlone Joins Steve Keen and Bitcoin’s Bearish Price Chorus
McGlone’s renewed warning arrives amid increasingly severe predictions from prominent Bitcoin skeptics.
Economist Steve Keen argued that Bitcoin could eventually become worthless during an April 66 appearance on The Diary of a CEO.
Keen’s argument differs substantially from McGlone’s, however.
The famed economist questioned whether Bitcoin’s proof-of-work design is sustainable over the long term.
Keen argued that this security model also creates a vulnerability because it gives the network “a huge requirement for energy use.”
As climate pressures and competition for energy intensify, he believes governments could prioritize electricity for essential economic activities.
“The two easiest things to cut out … are cryptocurrencies and international travel,” Keen said.
Other skeptics have reached similar price conclusions through different routes.
Gold advocate Peter Schiff has outlined a scenario in which Bitcoin’s price finishes 2026 at $10,000, while “Big Short” investor Michael Burry has compared Bitcoin with a speculative mania and called its rise toward $100,000 unjustifiable.
Measured from Bitcoin’s $126,198 record, the total drawdown would exceed 92%.
Bitcoin has experienced losses approaching that scale during earlier market cycles, meaning the target cannot be dismissed as mechanically impossible.
But reaching it now would probably require several bearish forces to happen at the same time.
Forced liquidations among leveraged investors, miners, or corporate Bitcoin holders would be needed to accelerate the decline.
A severe regulatory, geopolitical, security, or energy shock may also be needed for such a substantial drop to happen.
Even under those conditions, Bitcoin would have to break through numerous potential demand zones, including the 2022 bear-market low near $15,500, before reaching $10,000.
This is arguably harder today, as structural changes such as spot ETFs have created a permanent bridge to conventional investment accounts, and corporations hold substantial Bitcoin reserves.
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Kurt Robson is a London-based reporter at CCN, specialising in the fast-moving worlds of crypto and emerging technology. He began his career covering local news in Cornwall after graduating from Falmouth University with First Class Honours in Journalism. There, he cut his teeth on everything from council meetings to missing swans.
He quickly rose through the ranks to become a frontline journalist at several of the UK’s leading national newspapers. Over the years, he has interviewed musicians and celebrities, reported from courtrooms and crime scenes, and secured multiple front-page exclusives.
Following the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kurt shifted his focus to technology journalism—just ahead of the AI boom. With a natural curiosity and a trained eye for emerging trends, he has found a new rhythm in reporting on innovation.
At CCN, Kurt's work focuses on the cutting edge of crypto, blockchain, AI, and the evolving digital world. Drawing on his background in people-first reporting and his deep interest in disruptive tech, Kurt delivers stories that are insightful, entertaining, and human-centric.
