Mark Twain-Style: Bitcoin Stages a 1929 Crash Remake

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Well, reckon this: Bitcoin and the rest of that crypto confederacy are behaving like a prairie storm, rougher and quicker than the 1929 stock tumble, and the cycles of boom and bust are squashing risk into a few sweltering years, says Bloomberg Intelligence’s Mike McGlone.

Strategist Says Bitcoin and Cryptos 2026 Leave the 1929 Crash Looking Mild

Bloomberg Intelligence’s Senior Commodity Strategist Mike McGlone posted a reckonin’ on the social platform X on Feb. 3, showin’ a comparison of bitcoin and the wider crypto crowd with the 1929-30 U.S. stock crash, claimin’ that crypto’s price mischief outpaces one of the fiercest equity drifts in history.

He wrote:

“ Bitcoin and cryptos 2025-26 are makin’ the 1929-30 US stock market crash look tame.”

Alongside that, McGlone shared a Bloomberg chart titled “Cryptos Making US Stocks 1929-30 Look Like Sissy Stuff,” which lines up performance from a common starting point. The chart sets Dow Jones Industrial Average of 1929-30 against the Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index across 2025-26. On a level playing field, the crypto index shows repeated climbs over 20% with sharp reversals, and drawdowns over 30% in tight squeezes. By contrast, the Dow slid more like a weary mule, losein’ ground over months until it gave up about 40% by late 1930. The point ain’t the exact numbers so much as the pace-crypto doesn’t play by the old-timey rules, it carves its own wild clock in a hurry.

As of Feb. 6, 2026, bitcoin crawled around $65,480, the low comin’ in after a 15-month drought and a sharp 48% retreat from its October 2025 peak of $126,000. While this here “crypto winter” shadows the old volatility, the ground beneath the market is firmer these days, with institutional pillars standin’ tall-about $95 billion in U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs and treasury holdings by over 170 publicly traded companies. Even with the risk-off mood and daily volumes near $168 billion, bitcoin still holds roughly 56% of the market, a banner that makes it stand apart from the altcoin herd, much as the Dow of 1929 stood for a different breed of industry than a global digital hedge.

McGlone fleshed out his bent in another post on Feb. 3, wonderin’ if 2025 marked the apex for risk-asset-driven inflation and hittin’ it as a main reason bitcoin might turn into a tactical short. He laid out that bitcoin may need to prove resolve by holdin’ above $100,000 during stress, all while describin’ the asset as both “overhyped” and the “first-born” of crypto, harkin’ back to its 2009 birth. He flagged millions of digital tokens and mass participation through exchange-traded funds as signposts of late-cycle fancy. He even drew a line to internet stocks in 2000, suggestin’ last year might one day be seen as a cyclical peak for crypto markets.

In a separate update from Feb. 1, the strategist sketched a 2026 base case built on risin’ volatility and downside risk for bitcoin. He pegged $50,000 as an initial line of defense, with room to slide to $10,000 if volatility kicks up and risk assets stumble. He warned that $100,000 may turn into a cyclical ceiling for bitcoin when equity conditions weaken, painting 2026 as a reversionary stretch after inflation-fueled excess.

FAQ ⏰

  • Why is bitcoin being compared to the 1929 stock market crash?
    McGlone argues crypto volatility now outruns the speed and heat of the Dow’s tumble in 1929-30.
  • What does the Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index show?
    It highlights repeated 20% surges and 30% drawdowns in crypto over short hops and leaps.
  • How does crypto volatility differ from the Dow’s 1929 decline?
    Crypto squeezes extreme market cycles into far tighter windows than historic equities.
  • Why is bitcoin still viewed as structurally distinct?
    Its fixed supply, robust liquidity, and ETF access set it apart from other digital assets.

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2026-02-06 05:40