Bitcoin on pace for fourth negative week in a row, here's what experts are saying: CNBC Crypto World
Watch on YouTube ↗  |  February 11, 2026 at 20:01 UTC  |  11:53  |  CNBC
Speakers
Brandon Gomez — Anchor, CNBC
Michael Saylor — Executive Chairman, MicroStrategy
Barry Bannister — Chief Equity Strategist, Stifel
Mike Novogratz — CEO, Galaxy Digital
Johann Kerbrat — GM of Robinhood Crypto, Robinhood

Summary

  • Bitcoin is facing significant headwinds, down for the fourth consecutive week and losing over 10% week-over-week, decoupling negatively from the S&P 500 which rose nearly 1%.
  • A sharp divergence in outlooks exists: Michael Saylor predicts Bitcoin will outperform the S&P 500 by 2-3x over the next 4-8 years, while Stifel's Barry Bannister warns of further downside due to a lack of Fed rate cuts.
  • Robinhood is aggressively pivoting to on-chain infrastructure, launching a Layer 2 blockchain (Robinhood Chain) built on Arbitrum, aiming to tokenize real-world assets (stocks/ETFs) to enable 24/7 trading and instant settlement.
Trade Ideas
Ticker Direction Speaker Thesis Time
LONG Johann Kerbrat
GM of Robinhood Crypto, Robinhood
Robinhood is launching a public testnet for "Robinhood Chain," an "Ethereum layer 2 built on Arbitrum." They are working with "Alchemy, LayerZero, Chainlink." * HOOD: Vertical integration allows them to capture settlement fees and offer 24/7 tokenized stock trading, differentiating from traditional brokers. * ARB: As the underlying stack, Arbitrum captures value from Robinhood's massive retail user base moving on-chain. * ETH: Serves as the settlement layer for Arbitrum, accruing security fees. * LINK / ZRO: Explicitly named as infrastructure partners; increased activity on Robinhood Chain drives usage of their protocols (Oracles/Interoperability). LONG (Infrastructure play on retail DeFi adoption). Regulatory crackdown on tokenized securities (SEC) or technical failure of the testnet. 6:35
LONG Johann Kerbrat
GM of Robinhood Crypto, Robinhood
"The traditional system has just stopped evolving... you still need one full business day to do settlement... market is still not open 24/7." Robinhood aims to tokenize "public stocks and ETFs." The inefficiency of T+1 settlement and market hours creates a massive efficiency gap. Tokenization solves this. As major players (Robinhood, NYSE, NASDAQ mentioned) enter, the RWA sector moves from niche to institutional standard. LONG (Sector rotation into RWA protocols and platforms). Legislative stalling (Clarity Act mentioned as stalled) could freeze US adoption. 4:03
WATCH Mike Novogratz
CEO, Galaxy Digital
Calls the current downturn "more distressing than the last bear market" because "this time there's no smoking gun." When industry veterans cannot identify the specific cause of a 15-30% drawdown (unlike the clear leverage flush of Luna/FTX), it suggests structural weakness or hidden liquidity exits. This uncertainty warrants caution on crypto-native proxies like Galaxy Digital until a floor is found. WATCH (Wait for market clarity). Missing the bottom if this is a "buy the fear" moment. 2:33
BTC
LONG Michael Saylor
Executive Chairman, MicroStrategy
"I think the Bitcoin is going to double to triple the performance of the S&P over the next 4 to 8 years." Despite current price weakness (-10% week-over-week), the long-term adoption curve and scarcity value of Bitcoin remain intact relative to traditional equities. LONG (Long-term accumulation). Continued high interest rates and regulatory hostility could delay this timeframe. 0:00
BTC
SHORT Barry Bannister
Chief Equity Strategist, Stifel
"It's not behaving as a hedge against dollar oblivion... it's behaving more like an overextended tech stock that's worried about whether the Fed will cut rates more. And I don't think the Fed's going to cut too much." Bitcoin is currently trading as a high-beta liquidity proxy. If the Fed holds rates higher for longer (as Bannister expects), liquidity dries up, and "overextended" assets like BTC will re-rate lower. SHORT (or AVOID in the short term). Unexpected Fed pivot or a banking crisis that reignites the "hedge" narrative. 0:00