Bitcoin Falls Below $70K, Wiping Out Gains Since Trump’s Win | Bloomberg Businessweek Daily 2/5/2026

Watch on YouTube ↗ | February 05, 2026 at 21:11 | 42:30 | Bloomberg Markets

Speakers

Paul Krugman — Nobel Laureate / Professor, CUNY Graduate Center

Jurrien Timmer — Director of Global Macro, Fidelity

Suki — CFO, Incyte Corporation

Dan Sheridan — CEO, Brooks Running

Charlie Pellett — Anchor/Reporter, Bloomberg

Tim Stenovec — Anchor/Co-Host, Bloomberg TV & Radio

Summary

Bloomberg Businessweek Daily covers a sharp crypto and broad market selloff, with Bitcoin falling below $70,000 and wiping out post-election gains. Nobel laureate Paul Krugman argues Bitcoin is in a crisis of faith and a bust, while Fidelity's Jurrien Timmer says Bitcoin still has value at current levels and sees gold, equities, commodities, and AI as long-term portfolio themes. Brooks Running CEO Dan Sheridan describes a resilient running consumer and global growth, and Xero CEO Sukhinder Singh Cassidy defends her company against AI-driven software fears, calling AI a net expander for its data-rich platform.

Bitcoin fell below $70,000, down sharply from its October high, pressuring crypto-related assets and broader risk sentiment.
Paul Krugman called Bitcoin a total bust and argued a crypto winter could expose political and Strategy-related vulnerabilities.
Jurrien Timmer disagreed on valuation, saying Bitcoin has value again near $65,000 and is not systemic.
Timmer also favored equities as a portfolio anchor and gold, commodities, and Bitcoin as diversifiers, while remaining positive on AI's long-term promise.
Dan Sheridan said running demand and the Brooks consumer remain healthy despite tariff and supply-chain pressures.
Sukhinder Singh Cassidy said AI is a net expander for Xero and that the software selloff is not distinguishing value propositions.
Market flash noted broad declines in stocks, silver, and Bitcoin, with the VIX above 20.

Ideas

Paul Krugman Nobel Laureate / Professor, CUNY Graduate Center 4:01

Bitcoin is total bust.

Bitcoin is in a crisis of faith and is a total bust as money after 17 years; it has no fundamentals or cash flows, its recent rise was driven by politics and crypto vehicles like Strategy, and a crypto winter could be a reckoning because the previous faith-based bounces may not return. He also doubts a government bailout would materialize given likely political backlash.

Paul Krugman Nobel Laureate / Professor, CUNY Graduate Center 4:38

Strategy lacks Bitcoin's faith support.

Strategy and other crypto vehicles drove much of Bitcoin's recent rise, but the mystical or libertarian attachment that has supported Bitcoin does not apply to Strategy shares, and the trade is now largely a political creation tied to Trump's prospects; a crypto winter leaves Strategy more exposed.

Paul Krugman Nobel Laureate / Professor, CUNY Graduate Center 6:34

Gold is actual refuge asset.

In the face of doubts about stability and politics, gold is proving to be the actual refuge asset rather than Bitcoin; people who viewed Bitcoin as the next gold are waking up to gold itself as the safe haven.

Jurrien Timmer Director of Global Macro, Fidelity 15:19

Bitcoin has value again at $65k.

He disagrees with Krugman that Bitcoin cannot be valued; it is a network asset and can be assessed against money supply like gold as hard money. Bitcoin formed a fifth wave to about $226,000 and has retrenched; at around $65,000 he thinks it has value again. Its decline is not systemic and is part of a speculative unwind, not a broad asset selloff trigger.

Jurrien Timmer Director of Global Macro, Fidelity 16:24

Equities are portfolio anchor compounder.

The stock market is the best compounder over time because companies generate cash flows and earnings; most stocks around the world are not expensive, even though the S&P is expensive because of about seven mega-cap names trading in the mid-30s. Equities should always be the anchor of any portfolio.

Jurrien Timmer Director of Global Macro, Fidelity 16:59

Gold is preferred hard-asset diversifier.

Gold is a hard-money asset whose value can be compared to money supply; it is a diversifier generally uncorrelated with equities and bonds, and fits that role even better than Bitcoin. In a world of fiscal dominance and greater Fed-Treasury coordination to manage debt, harder assets have a place.

Jurrien Timmer Director of Global Macro, Fidelity 16:59

Commodities are uncorrelated diversifiers.

He sees gold, Bitcoin, commodities in general, and alternatives as diversifiers that are generally uncorrelated to both equities and bonds. They all have a place, especially in a world of fiscal dominance where harder assets benefit from greater Fed-Treasury coordination in managing the debt load.

Jurrien Timmer Director of Global Macro, Fidelity 18:08

AI promise outweighs volatility.

AI is perhaps the greatest technological innovation ever, but there are many unknowns. Because debt markets have ramped up so much, any disappointment can cause everyone to exit first and ask questions later, creating volatility. Still, the long-term promise of the technology outweighs that volatility.

Dan Sheridan CEO, Brooks Running 22:26

Running footwear demand remains resilient.

The running consumer is healthy and resilient; global running and walking participation is growing, and because running is so important to consumers, they trade off other discretionary items and keep buying running shoes and apparel. Brooks grew 16% in 2025, with Asia and China momentum, and supply-chain/tariff pressures are being managed.

Suki CFO, Incyte Corporation 36:03

Xero is AI net expander.

Xero is a system of record and collector of proprietary financial data for SMBs, with domain expertise and a trust/privacy layer that makes AI a net expander rather than a threat. It uses multiple LLMs to build vertical AI on top of its data layer, has 300,000 customers already using new GenAI features, and sees durable SMB demand, so the market's broad software selloff is not distinguishing its value proposition.

Suki CFO, Incyte Corporation 38:58

Software selloff ignores value differences.

The broad AI-driven selloff in software is not distinguishing between different software companies' value propositions and customer positions. Companies that own the system of record, data, domain expertise, and trust layer can be AI net expanders, so the indiscriminate selloff creates a setup where those differences matter.

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Speakers: Paul Krugman, Jurrien Timmer, Dan Sheridan, Suki · Tickers: BTC, STRATEGY, GLD, VT, DBC, AI-SECTOR, Running footwear & apparel, XRO, IGV