Goldman Sachs issued a bleak warning on Thursday, cautioning that the stock market’s strong rally might not endure. Strategist Peter Oppenheimer noted in a client memo that equities are currently “priced for perfection,” leaving them vulnerable to a correction as bond yields rise and economic uncertainties loom.

“While we expect equity markets to make further progress over the year as a whole — largely driven by earnings — they are increasingly vulnerable to a correction,” Oppenheimer stated. He highlighted factors such as disappointing economic data and elevated valuations as potential triggers for a downturn.

Though he stopped short of predicting an immediate 10% correction, Oppenheimer suggested that investors might consider reducing risk in their portfolios.

The Trump factor and market volatility

Donald Trump’s presidential victory boosted equity markets significantly, outperforming historical post-election rallies, including those following Ronald Reagan’s 1980 win. Yet, analysts warn that the very factors driving this optimism could spark turbulence.

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives pointed to recent sell-offs in major stocks such as Nvidia (NVDA), Tesla (TSLA), and Palantir (PLTR), attributing these to rising interest rates and profit-taking.

Nvidia, a market darling, saw its worst trading day since September after CEO Jensen Huang’s keynote failed to meet heightened expectations. Tesla and Palantir have also experienced sharp corrections, each losing more than 10% in recent weeks.

Also, Goldman Sachs research emphasized the difficulty of maintaining high sales and profit margins over extended periods, a challenge compounded by competition from other assets, including cryptocurrencies. The company believes that as stocks face stiff resistance, the stage may be set for investor disappointment.

Crypto markets set for a rollercoaster 2025

Meanwhile, Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX and CIO at Maelstrom, predicts a dramatic crypto market correction after peaks in early 2025. In his latest Medium insight, Hayes forecasted a significant downturn following a liquidity-driven rally, estimating a mid-March peak.

Hayes cited US dollar liquidity dynamics and quantitative tightening as determining factors influencing the market. “Currently, Bitcoin is fluctuating, according to changes in the speed of dollar supply,” he said.

Despite earlier concerns about a “Trump dump,” Hayes believes this correction may have already occurred in late 2024. He now expects a liquidity surge of up to $612 billion in Q1 2025, driven by US Treasury spending and reduced activity in the Federal Reserve’s Reverse Repo Facility. This influx, he argued, could sustain bullish momentum in the crypto market.

Hayes also disclosed investment moves from his family office, Maelstrom, into decentralized science (DeSci) tokens, including BIO, VITA, and NEURON. He is advising investors to take a more risk-tolerant approach for short-term gains.

Kiyosaki warns of historic stock market crash

Robert Kiyosaki, the author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, echoed Goldman Sachs’ sentiments, warning of an imminent stock market crash. He attributed this outlook to the long-term repercussions of decisions made during the 2008 financial crisis, such as prioritizing bank bailouts over citizen welfare.

“I WARNED Y’all. In 2013, I published Rich Dad’s Prophecy, which predicted the biggest stock market crash in history. That CRASH is NOW,” Kiyosaki declared on social media.

I WARNED Y’all. 2013 Published Rich Dad’s PROPHECY.
Prophecy predicted the biggest stock market crash in history was coming. That CRASH is NOW.

How did I know this giant crash was coming? I knew because in 2008 our leaders, led by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, paid himself and…

— Robert Kiyosaki (@theRealKiyosaki) January 8, 2025

Despite his pessimistic predictions, Kiyosaki expressed his delight about investment opportunities in the downturn, particularly in Bitcoin. “BITCOIN crashing. Great news. I continue buying Bitcoin because Bitcoin crashing means Bitcoin is on sale,” he wrote.

A Step-By-Step System To Launching Your Web3 Career and Landing High-Paying Crypto Jobs in 90 Days.

Bitcoin has been on a rollercoaster ride lately. It finally broke through the $100K mark in early December and peaked at $108K on December 17. But it’s been slightly downhill for the $BTC price since then, starting this week off at around $98K. 

And now, a recent announcement by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has seen Bitcoin take a rough tumble, down to $93K.

The DOJ has been given the green light to sell 69,370 $BTC (around $6.5M) that had been seized from a darknet marketplace. 

Reportedly, concerns regarding Bitcoin’s volatility have been cited by the DOJ as the main reason for pushing for a quick sale, which was approved by a federal judge on December 30.

The Bitcoin was seized from Silk Road, a marketplace for illegal goods and services, including drug trafficking, computer hacking, and money laundering. Its founder, Ross William Ulbricht, was arrested in 2013 and is currently serving a life sentence.

By the way, President-elect Donald Trump – as one of his election campaign promises – said he would commute Ulbricht’s sentence if elected. 

Trump’s January 20 inauguration was widely expected to bolster the $BTC price in light of his pro-crypto stance, including the establishment of a strategic reserve for digital assets.

The DOJ announcement, however, has resulted in a sharp market impact on $BTC’s price.

Economist Peter Schiff has much to say about this recent move. He sees the DOJ’s decision as confirmation of his warnings that Trump would not be buying Bitcoin despite promising not to sell it.

With Bitcoin Under The Cosh, Is Altcoin Season A-go?

With volatility being the name of the Bitcoin game, it remains to be seen how it performs in the coming months, making altcoins all the more attractive. Here are our top picks for the 5 best cryptos to buy at the moment.

1. Wall Street Pepe ($WEPE) – A Record-setting Presale

This meme coin is in the presale phase, but Wall Street Pepe is seeing phenomenal investor interest. In one month of its presale launch, it has raised a massive $44.6M. $WEPE is easily one of the cryptos with the most potential growth.

Retail investors are leaping to join $WEPE’s frog army, where they will receive trading advice and insights from Wall Street Pepe himself. 

Why is he doing that?

This no-nonsense Wolf of Wall Street in a Pepe the frog guise is on a mission to take down whales who manipulate the market while hiding in insider trading groups. So he’s training his frog army to trade like pros and become whales in their own right. 

The $WEPE presale was originally meant to close at the end of February. But at the rate tokens are being snatched up, it could well be sooner. 

2. Solaxy ($SOLX) – Layer 2 for Solana in the Making

Solaxy is causing a stir. It’s the world’s first Layer-2 ecosystem for Solana, and it’s promising big things. Also in presale, the Solaxy platform will build on Solana’s good points. But as many investors well know, Solana has serious issues with traffic congestion and failed transactions. 

That is where Solaxy is set to be a game changer – eliminating those issues through unparalleled speed, scalability, and reliability. Solaxy has a 138B-strong total token supply, and 30% is being allocated to the development of the Layer-2 ecosystem. 

With $9.4M already raised, all eyes are on Solaxy. And we’re looking forward to seeing those vast improvements it will bring to the party once up and running.

3. Pudgy Penguins ($PENGU) – An Old Faithful That’s Bucking Market Trends

After initially launching on the Ethereum blockchain in 2021, Pudgy Penguins launched on Solana in December last year.

It did that to extend the $PENGU community and reach new users. And so far, it’s been a recipe for success. 

The Pudgy Penguins NFT collection (the name alone says it all) comprises 8,888 cartoon characters. And while the penguins themselves – representing love, happiness, empathy, compassion, and other emotions are all very cutesy, this altcoin means serious business. 

$PENGU’s market cap currently stands at (ahem) $2,058B, ranking it at #67 on CoinGecko. And looking at its performance over the past month, the $PENGU price has remained relatively stable – 1 $PENGU costs $0.03282 – despite a market that has been anything but. 

4. Best Wallet Token – Exciting Benefits for Holders

You most likely have heard of Best Wallet app. You may even already be using it. This mobile-first, 100% non-custodial app has a lot going for it. And now Best Wallet plans to introduce extra benefits, powered by its native Best Wallet token ($BEST).

Those benefits for $BEST holders include early access to new projects and presales, reduced transaction fees, higher staking rewards, and the power of community governance. And with close to $6.8M already raised in the presale, there are no signs of it slowing down.

You can read $BEST’s litepaper for more information on the ecosystem, token, and future plans.

5. Pepe Unchained ($PEPU) – A Strong Start for this Layer-2 Meme Ecosystem

Pepe Unchained, like Wall Street Pepe, is yet another member of the Pepe the Frog clan, and what a phenomenal presale he had.

By the time $PEPU hit the $30M mark, the community was hailing Pepe Unchained as the ‘best-selling presale token of all time.’

By the end of the sale, Pepe Unchained had raised an eye-watering $74M, and it went on to list on DEXs and CEXs in December.

Pepe Unchained is a Layer-2 blockchain for meme coins that is now fully operational, and the launch of its Pump Pad is imminent. 

To be fair, the past week has not been too kind to $PEPU. It’s seen a steady decline in line with the general market (thanks in part to the DOJ’s Bitcoin bombshell). But its prior performance was pretty good, and we expect it to rally in the not-too-distant future. 

In Conclusion

For investors steering clear of Bitcoin following the DOJ’s upcoming sell-off of 69,370 $BTC, take heart. It’s not all doom and gloom.

Who knows – the Trumpster might help Bitcoin rally once he has settled into the Oval Office. 

In the meantime, there are other choices out there, including the five best crypto to buy we covered in this article, which are well worth considering.

Don’t just take our word for it, though. After all, we are not financial advisers. Be sure to DYOR before making any investment decision.