‘The only thing that's certain is volatility’: Four leading market experts weigh in on the start of a volatile week

The Block’s Editor-In-Chief Tim Copeland was joined by four leading experts to discuss the recent sell-off in both crypto and traditional markets while on the inaugural episode of the Block’s new podcast, “The Crypto Beat.”

Speaking on Bitcoin’s price at the time of recording, Fisher8 Capital Founder and CIO Hedgedhog said the most relevant fact is that “BTC has traded above 55k for months on end, and now it’s below that,” and conceded that a variety of factors and narratives are contributing to an overall shaky market.

Hedgedhog added that if Bitcoin showed itself capable of surmounting the supply and rising above price levels currently capping it, it would be very bullish for the overall crypto market.

“The only thing that's certain is volatility… it's also tough to pick a direction, but volatility will persist,” he added.

Rich Rosenblum, co-CEO and co-founder of GSR, provided insights as to where current market anxieties are stemming from, citing three main areas: The U.S. elections, interest rate uncertainty, and an escalation of conflict in the Middle East.

Rosenblum continued to say that if developments in the Middle East cause additional duress on the markets, he expects the Federal Reserve to react “when they need to” in order to stabilize the situation. That could include a return to quantitative easing, according to Rosenblum.

“I'd say the lower it goes, the higher it's going to go,” Rosenblum said.

Head of Research at FalconX David Lawant agreed that there are many different “cross-currents” affecting the market, making it difficult to determine what exactly is in the “driver’s seat in the short term.” Nevertheless, Lawant said his overall outlook on Bitcoin in the medium to long term is still positive.

“As these cracks become more visible, I think that the bitcoin investment case starts to become clear,” Lawant added.

Zaheer Ebtikar, founder and CIO of Split Capital, commented on the sharp drop in the Japanese and U.S. markets, calling the recent moves “insane” and mentioned that the Nikkei had its worst single-day decline since 1987. Zaheer went on to explain that such sharp moves could be indicative of the overall health of the economy.

“When the stock market shrinks 4%, you are literally telling the entire world that your economy is contracting in a way, right? It's a crude metric, but it's very real,” he said.

Zaheer also touched on the upcoming U.S. elections and their influence on sensitivity to the market. He explained that bad unemployment numbers a few months ago wouldn’t have been a huge problem, but that “now you have Donald Trump and Kamala Harris being so neck and neck. The economy matters a lot more, even if it is just until November 5th. So I think every single print will be meaningful,” he said.

The discussion took place on the first episode of The Block’s new podcast, “The Crypto Beat,” hosted by editor-in-chief Tim Copeland @Timccopeland and joined live by @RichR_GSR, @dlawant, @hedgedhog7, and @SplitCapital and can be watched in full below: