The final phase of a potential U.S. market crash may have already begun, according to bloomberg Mike McGlone, senior product strategist.
McGlone said in an interview with David Lin published on June 12 that the speculative “then dump” pattern seen across multiple asset classes is increasingly extending to equities, raising the risk of a broader market correction.
According to McGlone, 2026 will be characterized by rapid rises and subsequent rapid declines in assets such as Bitcoin (BTC), silver, natural gas, and agricultural commodities.
He warned that similar developments could eventually spill over into the U.S. stock market, marking the next stage of the economic cycle.
The warning comes as strong corporate earnings and a long bull market continue to draw money into stocks.
To this end, McGlone said equities have become the primary destination for speculative money, steering investments away from commodities, precious metals and cryptocurrencies.
trickle down effect
In his view, capital is increasingly flowing into equities at the expense of alternative assets such as gold and commodities.
“The theme so far this year is pump and dump. The important thing for my outlook is that I think it’s only just getting started.<…>“To me, the end game is this pump-and-dump pattern, starting with Bitcoin, natural gas, silver, and corn, and trickling down to everything, including oil and the stock market,” he said.
Although he did not give a specific downside target for the S&P 500, he warned that the pump-and-dump pattern already seen could eventually widen, marking the final stage of the cycle for the U.S. stock market.
The strategist suggested that the stock market could eventually lead to a broader decline across financial markets. Although speculation has already cooled in some commodities that saw strong gains earlier this year, he believes the underlying risks remain unaddressed.
McGlone said the recent decline in precious metals prices reflects the typical market peak pattern of a strong rally followed by profit-taking.
He pointed to silver’s rapid rise and subsequent pullback as an example of unwinding speculative excess.
Despite the correction, he expects gold to remain broadly range-bound over the long term, with support near $4,000 if historical trends hold.
