Now, let’s look at the bigger picture for a sec.

Sure, Bitcoin’s been stalling lately, but:

It’s still smashing past all-time highs;

We have so much more institutional adoption;

We’re getting regulatory clarity;

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink says Bitcoin could hit $700K;

Bridgewater Associates CEO Ray Dalio recommends a 15% allocation, and some major advisors are going as high as 40%.

And yet… compared to 2021, this run feels way more low-key. Many people in finance still call Bitcoin a scam, complain about energy use, or say it’s useless.

Basically, the disconnect between what’s actually happening and how people are reacting is real.

Which is exactly what investing journalist Natalie Brunell and Luke Broyles from The Bitcoin Adviser talked about on a recent podcast.

Luke admitted he expected retail mania to start at $70K. Well, look at us now – Bitcoin’s almost twice that, but the reaction’s still giving crickets + tumbleweed.

And he thinks that even if Bitcoin hits $5M, many people will still argue it can’t go higher.

Because mass adoption isn’t an overnight switch – it’s a long grind.

But where could the real growth come from? Luke’s answer: debt.

The fiat system runs on borrowing – governments, companies, and regular people all use loans to keep the economy moving. And he thinks the real shift will happen when Bitcoin gets tied into those loan systems.

That means things like:

using Bitcoin in mortgages,

borrowing against home equity to get Bitcoin,

or companies taking out loans with Bitcoin as part of their balance sheet strategy.

Basically, Bitcoin wouldn’t just be something you buy – it would become something the credit system itself relies on.

Luke sees this as the real Trojan horse: Bitcoin gradually becoming collateral in global lending, much like Michael Saylor has already started doing at the corporate level.

And Luke takes it a step further: he thinks Bitcoin could actually do a better job than the assets debt usually goes into.

When new borrowing flows into housing, energy, or stocks, it makes prices climb and everyday people end up paying more. But if that borrowing is directed into Bitcoin instead, it creates demand without raising living costs.

Natalie summed it up by calling Bitcoin a kind of inflation shock absorber – something governments and businesses could use to manage debt pressures.

If that vision plays out, the next phase of Bitcoin’s rise may be less about hype cycles and more about becoming the backbone of global finance.

The world’s number-one crypto is looking more like a mature asset class every day as Bitcoin volatility continues to drop (yes, even as it blasts past all-time highs and promptly retraces its steps).

Bitcoin volatility has reached a five-year low

Bitcoin has long been regarded as one of the most volatile financial assets; its turbulent price fluctuations over the years have deterred many investors. But what if I told you that Bitcoin is now less volatile than a blue-chip tech stock?

According to ecoinometrics, Bitcoin’s 30-day realized volatility is now at its lowest point in nearly five years, and it’s a trend that has persisted even through Bitcoin’s headline-making rallies and corrections over the last five years:

“Exactly what you expect from a maturing asset.”

Since 2022, Bitcoin has often been less volatile than some of Wall Street’s biggest names, including mega-cap stocks like Nvidia. During the sharp tech sector swings of 2023 and 2024, Nvidia’s price was more unpredictable than Bitcoin, an asset infamous for its hair-raising moves.

Even during this current Bitcoin bull run, the price swings have remained notably tamer than previous cycles. Macro analyst Lyn Alden recently told CryptoSlate she believes that Bitcoin’s cycles are changing.

We should expect this one to be longer and “less extreme” than previous runs, with strong moves upward followed by periods of consolidation, “rather than going to the moon and collapsing.”

All the signs of asset class maturity

Bitcoin volatility declining is just one marker of its growing maturity. The launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. in early 2024 was a landmark event, opening up the asset to the mainstream audience.

Major asset managers like BlackRock and Fidelity offer direct Bitcoin exposure to retail and institutional investors through regulated exchange-traded products. This has introduced broader ownership and liquidity, dampening large price swings and integrating Bitcoin more deeply into traditional markets.

Moreover, recent regulatory changes now allow Americans to include Bitcoin in their 401k retirement accounts. As diversified portfolios absorb BTC allocations, Bitcoin volatility further subsides.

Pension funds, endowments, and insurance companies have begun allocating to Bitcoin as part of their alternative asset strategies. This increases trading by sophisticated investors and reduces the impact of short-term speculative flows.

Strong-willed kids become adults who change the world

Increasingly, Bitcoin’s price shows a higher correlation with broader equity markets during risk-on and risk-off periods, another sign of integration and maturity. While you can argue whether this is what we intended for Bitcoin, it does reflect mainstream market adoption. And hey, strong-willed kids become adults who change the world, as Bitcoin is undoubtedly doing.

For everyday investors and institutions alike, lower Bitcoin volatility translates to less risk and a smoother investment profile.

It’s also a sign that Bitcoin is outgrowing its adolescent phase of wild speculative swings and turbulence, and settling into its role as a legitimate member of society and staple of diversified portfolios. It’s time to admit, our baby is fully grown.

40% of Brits who have been victims of frauds or scams in the last year haven’t been able to recover the money lost as a result, highlighting the urgent need for fraud-resistant payment methods, a new survey has revealed. 

As open banking emerges as a viable safeguard for merchants and financial institutions, research from Pay by Bank provider Yaspa shows consumers lose £765 on average to scams, with the average percentage of lost funds recovered sitting at 34%.

In the last 12 months, 16% of Brits who have experienced fraud or scams have lost between £250 and £500, while 1 in 10 have lost between £500 and £1000. Survey data revealed that the average financial loss for men was £943 – significantly higher than women, whose average came in at £476.

Younger people lost less on average, with 16-24 year olds losing an average of £284 in scams and fraudulent activity, while all other age groups lost between £750 and £900 on average. This could be in part due to younger people being more technologically savvy than their older counterparts, or that they would have less disposable income to part with. 

Financial losses were also higher in Northern Ireland, with the average amount of money lost due to fraud in the last 12 months being £2290, followed by the North East at £1337, Wales at £1285 and Greater London at £1151. 

The nationally representative survey found 35% of respondents were a victim of fraud in the last 12 months – an estimated equivalent of around 17.5 million people. Over half of Brits (54%) said they believe it is easier to scam people today than 5 years ago, compared to just 19% of respondents who disagreed and felt it is harder to do so, while 70% of respondents said they are concerned about them or a loved one becoming a victim of fraud in the next 12 months. 

According to the survey, it was online mediums that ranked the highest for the ‘most common’ occurrences of fraudulent activity, with online shopping scams, phishing emails, and Facebook Marketplace scams considered the most common according to respondents. 

Investment scams, AI or deep fake scams, and unlicensed gambling operators also ranked highly, with nearly a quarter of Brits (24%) stating they believe ticket buying for concerts and sporting events is the most common platform for fraudulent activity or scams.

When asked if the government and its agencies were doing enough to protect consumers from fraudulent activity, nearly 40% didn’t agree. Almost 1 in 2 (49%) shared that the primary responsibility for protecting consumers sits with the government, while 44% felt it should be the responsibility of banks and financial institutions. Just over a third (38%) believed responsibility should sit with the police, 37% said technology and social media companies, while 26% felt it lay with the individual. 

Nearly a third of those surveyed (33%) shared they felt the solution to tackle fraudulent activity was in improved technology for better detection. 

Highlighting Pay by Bank as an alternative technology to reduce the risk of financial loss as a result of fraud, Amie Kadhim from Yaspa shares: “Push payment fraud is one of the most damaging types of fraud today – and once the money’s gone, it’s rarely recovered. Scammers exploit the trust people place in bank transfers, highlighting the urgent need for better safeguards.

“With a background in card acquiring, I’ve seen how Pay by Bank offers a more secure alternative. Open banking, the technology behind it, moves money directly between accounts using strong customer authentication, without exposing sensitive card details or leaving gaps for fraudsters.

“With a third of respondents saying technology for fraud detection could be the best way to protect consumers against scams, other technological innovations in the payments sector could also be effective in fighting against these crimes.

As fraud tactics evolve, we must stay ahead with smarter and more secure technology – and help consumers understand which payment methods truly offer better protection. Pay by Bank does exactly that.”

Macroeconomics expert Raoul Pal says risk assets could witness massive eruptions if the US dollar continues to weaken.

In a new video, Pal tells his 242,000 YouTube subscribers that if the US dollar index (DXY) falls further amid an improving business cycle, risk assets such as stocks and crypto could experience an extended bullish phase.

“So what happens is when the business cycle picks up, there’s more disposable income and businesses have more investment income and that gets driven out of the risk curve always…

And I think the inverse to the business cycle being so low for so long will be the flip side of the cycle will be longer than people expected because we’ve got this slight dislocation still working through post-Covid that then extends the business cycle…

But if financial conditions keep moving, if they really have done some sort of Mar-a-Lago Accord, and they get the dollar [DXY] below 90. Okay, then we’re going on further and yeah, maybe it’s a full bubble cycle then.”

The DXY, a measure of the value of the dollar relative to a basket of six other leading currencies from major economies, is currently at 98.

Pal further says an increase in global liquidity could also act as a bullish catalyst for asset prices amid high government debt levels.

“Just using the liquidity framework, the business cycle framework, the financial conditions framework, it’s all suggesting that the probability is because they need to roll the debt, they’re going to have to increase more liquidity, and this is just going to drive assets up strongly.”

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No one is surprised to see another bad quarter of sales for Tesla; the only question is how Musk will spin it.

Tesla delivered 384,122 vehicles in the second quarter of this year, wrapping up another weak quarter for the company as it struggles to bring the pace of sales back up to 2023 levels.

That represents a 13.5% drop from the number of cars Tesla delivered in the second quarter of 2022, and it means Tesla runs a real chance of underperforming its total sales figure from 2024. If that happens, it would mean Tesla’s sales will have fallen two years in a row — despite the company once promoting the ability to grow deliveries at 50% annually.

TechCrunch

Pausing production, offering sweetheart financing deals, and lowering prices don’t seem to help. Tesla’s advantage in the market wasn’t quality; it was novelty. There are now more, better options to choose from, and Musk’s chemically induced performance on the global stage has not helped. There will be no pivot to selling EVs to coal-rolling weirdos, but that seems to be their only hope?

Previously:
• The Tesla ‘Cyberbeast’ is exceptionally ugly
• Tesla layoffs hit its diversity and inclusivity programs
• Small stickers on the ground trick Tesla autopilot into steering into opposing traffic lane

Back in the 1800s, cities ran on horses. Need to travel? Move stuff? Deliver mail? You used a horse.

Whole industries were built around them – stables, blacksmiths, hay sellers.

Horses were basically the backbone of urban life… but they were also, quite literally, the crap of it. Streets were full of manure, dead horses often just… stayed there, and diseases ran wild.

So, it worked, but it was gross.

Then, cars showed up – and you’d think people would be thrilled. No more poop on the streets, yay, amirite?

Wrong. Early cars were seen as loud and unreliable. Some cities even banned them.

And of course, all the horse-dependent industries freaked out – because this new “car” thing didn’t just seem impractical, it threatened their entire way of life.

But in 1908, Ford released Model T – a car that regular people could afford. Roads improved. Mechanics appeared. Cities got cleaner.

And suddenly… cars made sense.

By the 1920s, horses stopped being essential. It took nearly 30 years and fierce resistance, but the world moved on.

You probably see where this is going.

Crypto today is the car. TradFi is the horse lobby, judging innovation by old standards and clinging to a system that kinda works… but is also crappy.

I’m bringing this up because the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) recently released a report on the future of finance – and they had a lot to say about stablecoins.

They argue that while stablecoins offer some useful innovations, they are fundamentally unfit to be the core of tomorrow’s monetary system.

Let’s unpack some of their reasons – and where they hit or miss:

1/ Stablecoins aren’t consistent enough

BIS pointed out that different stablecoins (USDC, USDT) come from different companies, so their prices can vary.

Why it’s a valid concern:

If people have to double-check which stablecoin they’re getting – and whether it’ll hold value – that isn’t great for trust or efficiency.

But also:

Bank rates, payment apps, or dollars in different countries vary, too.

Small price differences don’t really matter to most users – they just want something that’s fast, easy to use, and cheap to send.

And stablecoins do that pretty well. Millions already use them daily – that’s a better reality check than obsessing over perfect 1:1 rates.

2/ Stablecoins aren’t flexible

Stablecoins don’t have elasticity – you can’t just print them on demand. You can only create new stablecoins if someone deposits real money or assets first.

Sure:

In a crisis, central banks can pump money into the system to calm markets.

Stablecoins can’t do that, which could make shocks harder to manage.

But also:

Elasticity is also how we got inflation, bailouts, and runaway debt.

Stablecoins are tight on purpose – to avoid those exact problems.

3/ Stablecoins are too anonymous

Because stablecoins run on public blockchains, and don’t always require ID checks, they can be used without revealing who’s behind the money.

Why it’s a valid concern:

BIS says it’s the dream setup for criminals. If you don’t know who’s moving the money, it’s harder to catch ’em.

However:

Blockchain transactions are actually more traceable than cash, because they’re permanently recorded on a public ledger.

Plus, most dirty money still flows through traditional banks.

4/ Stablecoins could destabilize financial markets

Most stablecoins are backed by government bonds.

If a lot of people try to cash out during a crisis, those bonds might have to be sold fast, which could cause prices to drop.

Why it’s a valid concern:

That kind of shock can push up borrowing costs and cause market instability.

But also:

The problem isn’t with stablecoins themselves – it’s with the lack of proper rules around how they’re managed.

Blaming the tech for regulatory lag is backwards.

5/ Stablecoins aren’t the future – but they hint at it

BIS says stablecoins won’t replace money, but they show what users want: speed, privacy, 24/7 access.

From their angle:

CBDCs could take the best parts of crypto and deliver them with more protections.

But:

Stablecoins exist because the old system failed too many people out.

Repackaging freedom into a new bureaucracy doesn’t fix the root issue.

In the end, the BIS is basically the central bank for central banks, and its job is to protect the TradFi system. Of course they’re gonna back the horse.

Stablecoins, and crypto in general, are the car.

Sure, they’re not perfect. But they respond to real human needs: access, autonomy, speed, and control. Things the old system isn’t delivering.

So now we wait: will the system evolve… or keep pretending the streets aren’t covered in horse poop?

Time will tell.