This round of decline is likely triggered by the chain reaction of gold and silver price surges. Gold currently has a net short position of 207,000 contracts/100 ounces. For every $100 increase in price, banks (including institutional hedging) face an unrealized loss of approximately $2.077 billion. For silver, every $10 increase in price corresponds to a maximum unrealized loss of $1.1 billion. Everyone is now waiting for Monday. If the surge continues, especially for smaller banks, they’ll need to replenish margin faster. Bitcoin will likely be the first asset sold off, followed by U.S. stocks, which tend to react slower. If U.S. stocks open with a major drop, the above scenario becomes even more likely. Current strategy: Hold some BTC, some U.S. Treasury bonds/cash. Wait until after Monday to see if banks encounter issues (not necessarily bankruptcy, but liquidity crises for smaller banks). If a systemic crisis truly emerges in the future, compounded by war (the U.S. seems to be entering an unprecedented period of chaos and fragility in its financial system, with external war posing the greatest risk), then the best time to buy the dip might be when everything stabilizes and there’s massive monetary easing (clearly, given current inflation pressures in the U.S., it’s unlikely to ease without extreme circumstances). Remember one conclusion: When a crisis occurs (even before we’re aware of it), Bitcoin, as the most liquid asset, acts as a leading indicator (not necessarily the worst-performing asset), because it’s sold off first for cash. Conversely, when the crisis is resolved, Bitcoin tends to rebound ahead of U.S. stocks.