“Digital gold,” they said. “A hedge against chaos,” they said. “Buy it at any price,” they said…

Even though there’s a government shutdown and my neighbor (who’s an air traffic controller) hasn't been paid in weeks… somehow the most urgent thing America needs right now is a 1-800-HODL-HELP hotline. Because Bitcoin just managed to lose more value than the 1929 stock market crash… and October is once again proving why it’s the financial calendar’s unofficial panic month.

The world’s favorite decentralized slot machine has shed $600 billion in market value since last Friday, with Bitcoin dropping 4% today to around $103,550, its lowest level since June. Ether slid under $3,700, down roughly 25% from its August peak.

And for everyone still coping by saying “BTC is just consolidating,” Coinglass data shows $1.2 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated in the past 24 hours. Say it with me now: “60k, here we come.”

Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange, had its own little meltdown. Their native token BNB dropped 11% Friday after a series of technical glitches triggered a record spree of forced liquidations earlier in the week. Binance has reportedly offered up to $600 million in compensation.

(Source: Marketwatch)

If you’re wondering what’s actually happening (besides the fact that a few whales just cannonballed their Bitcoin bags straight into the ocean) analysts are calling it a “repricing phase.” Based on what happened in 2022, that’s not a great indicator for what’s yet to come in stocks. Of course, this is all happening while the OG “boomer” assets (gold and silver) are hitting fresh highs.

Meanwhile, big names like Kraken, Circle, BitGo, and Ripple are all filing paperwork to become… banks. Isn’t it funny that the same companies that once bragged about disrupting Wall Street are now filling out FDIC paperwork like they’re applying for a mortgage?

Analyst Rachael Lucas calls it “a strategic hedge against volatility.” In other words: if you can’t outsmart JPMorgan, you might as well become JPMorgan.

According to Bitwise CIO Matthew Hougan, Bitcoin’s meltdown might be the “canary in the coal mine” for broader market stress. And he might be onto something… considering recent fraud write-downs at U.S. banks like Zions and Western Alliance just wiped $100 billion in market value in a single day.

Again, let me reiterate… Bitcoin just pulled a bigger one-week nosedive than the Dow did in 1929. But don’t worry… the influencers who told you to “HODL” will be the first to tweet “Buy the dip” as soon as they finish crying into their LED mining rigs.

All jokes aside, Bitcoin always comes back stronger after it gets dumped… but things are getting pretty ugly. So make sure to stay safe out there.

At the time of publishing this article, Stocks.News holds positions in Ethereum as mentioned in the article.