Bitcoin's Best Returns Are Behind It, McGlone Says
Bloomberg Intelligence's Mike McGlone argues falling volatility relative to gold has removed the premium that justified owning Bitcoin.
Updated on Nov. 9, 2026 in Investing
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Bloomberg Intelligence's Mike McGlone argued on Monday that Bitcoin's best returns are behind it, as the cryptocurrency fell below Strategy's average cost basis and traded near $74,845. Bitcoin is down 14% year to date.
Why it matters
McGlone's argument rests on Bitcoin's volatility relative to gold, which has fallen to roughly 1.1 to 1.2 times gold's level, the lowest ever recorded. Correlations across risk assets have tightened sharply this year, weakening the case for Bitcoin as a distinct asset.
Bitcoin's annualized volatility has dropped to roughly 1.1 to 1.2 times gold's, the lowest ever recorded, while spot Bitcoin ETFs logged $1.28 billion in outflows last week and are negative for all of 2026. The effect of these flows on Bitcoin's direction beyond the current cycle remains unclear.
The players
Mike McGlone
Mike McGlone is a commodities and macro strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence who frequently publishes bearish long-term views on Bitcoin and other risk assets.
Kyle Reidhead
Kyle Reidhead is a market commentator who noted Bitcoin's resilience through the Binance hack and the Democratic midterm sweep and expects a dip into the low $70,000s.
Anna Wong
Anna Wong is an economist at Bloomberg who does not expect the Federal Reserve to raise rates in December.
The details
On The Wolf Of All Streets podcast, McGlone argued that the falling volatility gap versus gold removes the premium that justified owning Bitcoin. A roughly $1 billion liquidation event on Sunday mostly wiped out long positions, and gold, silver, platinum, palladium, lead and natural gas have all reversed after sharp earlier rallies this year.
Timeline
February 2026: Bitcoin hit a 2026 low near $60,000.
Sunday: Roughly $1 billion in long positions were liquidated.
Last week: Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $1.28 billion in outflows.
Monday: McGlone argued Bitcoin's glory days are over.
Tuesday: CPI data is expected to decide the outcome of a December rate hike.
Market Dynamics
Bitcoin's volatility has now converged toward gold's, the lowest ratio recorded, which undercuts the thesis that it offers a distinct risk profile. Falling correlation-driven differentiation across risk assets this year suggests the premium investors once assigned to Bitcoin is narrowing.
Investors holding Bitcoin through spot ETFs or directly face a position now trading below Strategy's average cost basis and down 14% year to date. Portfolio allocation decisions around Bitcoin versus gold may be affected if the volatility gap continues to narrow.
The takeaway
Falling volatility parity with gold is a signal investors should weigh when assessing how much premium Bitcoin still warrants relative to traditional stores of value. Reviewing exposure in light of current correlations across risk assets can help clarify what a Bitcoin position is actually adding to a portfolio.
What happens next
The December rate hike outcome will be determined by the Tuesday CPI data release, which prediction markets currently price at roughly 77% odds.
Further reading
For more on how these asset-class comparisons are evaluated, see Investing coverage on Wisevoter.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Benzinga.
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