Smartest man in the room has a warning about Bitcoin prices

  • Morgan Stanley’s Mike Wilson is seen as one of the best analysts in Wall Street.

  • He warned that the S&P 500 is ripe for another 21% crash.

  • If this view is valid, we could see BTC prices crash as well.

Bitcoin price dipped to about $24,000 as a somber mood engulfed the stocks and cryptocurrency industry. After rising to a high of $25,373 during the weekend, the BTC/USD price has struggled to retest it this week. And now, one of the best sell-side analysts in Wall Street, has issued a blistering warning about the market.

Morgan Stanley’s Wilson warning

In a note on Tuesday, Mike Wilson, the Chief Equity Strategist at Morgan Stanley, warned that the S&P 500 could crash by another 21%. If this happens, it means that the index could crash from the current $4,000 to about $3,140. 

Wilson noted two main things that could push the S&P 500 index much lower in the near term. First, there is a reset of expectations about the Federal Reserve. The argument is that investors were expecting the Fed will start pivoting soon. 

However, the reality is that recent data point to more hikes this year. Inflation remains stubbornly high while the unemployment rate has fallen to a multi-decade low of 3.4%.

Second, corporate earnings have been a bit weak. Companies like Goldman Sachs and Home Depot published relatively weak financial results. According to FactSet, S&P 500 constituent companies have had a blended growth of -4.7% in the quarter, the worst since 2020. 

Further, with the bond yield being highly inverted, there is a likelihood that the US will go through a major recession. Stocks tend to underperform in such a period. Mike Wilson is not the only analyst worried about stocks. In a widely-read report, Jeremy Grantham warned that the S&P 500 could crash to about $3,200.

Implications for Bitcoin prices

Mike Wilson did not mention Bitcoin prices in his note. He did not also mention cryptocurrencies in general. However, if his warning materializes, the fact is that it will have serious implications for BTC and other cryptocurrencies.

In the past few months, Bitcoin and stocks have had a close correlation. A close look at the data shows that BTC and S&P 500 have a correlation coefficient of 0.91. A correlation of 1 or close to 1 is usually a sign that the two assets are closely correlated. 

Therefore, if the S&P 500 crashes by 20%, there is a high possibility that Bitcoin price will drop further than that. As such, while it is too early to predict whether Mike Wilson will be right, it makes sense to start taking profits.

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Tezos price surges as Google Cloud becomes a Tezos validator

  • Tezos blockchain has partnered with Google to drive Web3 innovation.
  • In the partnership, Tezos will onboard Google Cloud as a validator.
  • Google also partners with Ethereum, Flow, and Solana blockchains.

The price of Tezos (XTZ) is rising following a partnership between Tezos blockchain and search engine behemoth Google. At press time, the TXZ token was trading at $1.32 after surging by 6.32% in the past 24 hours.

The partnership between the search engine behemoth and the proof-of-stake blockchain will drive Web3 innovation on the Tezos blockchain. Tezos Foundation will onboard Google Cloud as a validator.

What it means for Google Cloud users

Following the agreement, Google Cloud users can build Web3 applications and deploy decentralized applications on the Tezos blockchain. They will be able to tap Tezos nodes to develop blockchain applications.

Tezos nodes, just like any other blockchain nodes, function as communication points that allow corporate users to confirm transactions, track the network’s history, as well as run the software needed for Web3 apps among other tasks.

Select startups incubated by Tezos will also have access to Google Cloud mentorship and credits.

The engineering director of Web3 at Google Cloud, James Tromans, commented on the partnership saying:

“At Google Cloud, we’re providing secure and reliable infrastructure for Web3 founders and developers to innovate and scale their applications. We look forward to bringing the dependability and scalability of Google Cloud to power Web3 applications on Tezos.”

Google recently integrated crypto payments on its Cloud services in a partnership with crypto exchange Coinbase. In the partnership, Coinbase is to allow Google Cloud users to settle their payments using digital currencies like Ether (ETH), Bitcoin (BTC), and other eight cryptocurrencies.

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Ankr partners with Microsoft to offer enterprise node services

  • Ankr has entered a strategic partnership with Microsoft.

  • The partnership will see Ankr provide infrastructure solutions that connect builders, applications, and users to web3. 

  • ANKR is up by more than 37% in the last 24 hours.

Ankr and Microsoft enter a strategic partnership

Ankr announced on Tuesday, February 21, that it has entered a strategic partnership with Microsoft. 

The team revealed that the partnership would see Ankr provide infrastructure solutions that connect builders, applications, and users to web3. 

The partnership is also designed to provide high-performance blockchain connections for individuals and institutions who desire to build new web3 experiences that would help onboard the next billion users. 

In its blog post, Ankr said the two entities are working toward a shared goal of making this service available soon through Microsoft’s Azure marketplace. They will provide a readily accessible gateway to blockchain infrastructure for millions of monthly customers.

The Ankr enterprise node service will allow individuals and entities to launch enterprise-grade blockchain nodes with custom specifications, optimise data querying for high levels of speed and reliability, and easily track the performance of their nodes anytime, 

The enterprise node service will offer low-latency blockchain connections to web3 projects

According to Ankr, the enterprise node deployment service will offer global, low-latency blockchain connections for any Web3 project or developer. This would allow them to focus their time and attention on innovating and scaling their Web3 projects and applications.

While commenting on this latest cryptocurrency news, Chandler Song, Co-Founder & CEO, Ankr said;

“This was a critical step in bringing blockchain infrastructure to a growing sector of the digital economy. The partnership, while an incredible milestone for Ankr, is also a key indicator of how far the decentralized web has come in integrating with the crucial players in every layer of web systems. The end result will be an era of extremely prolific building for blockchain-based applications from new Web3 projects as well as large enterprises entering the space.”

Rashmi Misra, Microsoft General Manager AI & Emerging Technologies, added that;

“Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Many developers and organizations are exploring how Web3 can help solve real-world business challenges, and our partnership with Ankr will enable them to access blockchain data in a reliable, scalable, and secure way. Together with Ankr, we are building a strong Web3 infrastructure layer whether you’re a developer building the next big decentralized application (dApp) or an established enterprise exploring Web3.”

ANKR, the native token of the Ankr blockchain, is one of the best performers over the last 24 hours. At press time, the price of ANKR stands at $0.0466, up by more than 37% in the past 24 hours. 

Ankr concluded that its partnership with Microsoft will provide a fully managed node hosting solution that comes with a wide range of custom specifications for blockchain nodes for memory, bandwidth, and global location according to customer needs. 

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