$BTC Even before the financial world had had time to recover from January's volatility, a man the market has learned to listen to very carefully spoke up. Michael Burry, an investor known for predicting the 2008 financial crisis, warns. Bitcoin's recent decline could be much more than just another correction.

In his opinion, this isn't just a cryptocurrency problem. It's a potential trigger for a chain of forced liquidations that could spill over into gold, silver, and, more broadly, financial markets.

According to Burry, Bitcoin's sharp decline—which temporarily dipped below $73,000 and is about 40% below recent highs—forced financial institutions and corporate treasuries to shore up their balance sheets. In a post published on Substack, the investor indicates that as much as $1 billion in gold and silver may have been sold at the end of January. All this to cover losses resulting from exposure to cryptocurrencies. He believes positions in tokenized precious metals contracts were particularly hard hit. They were cashed out in the panic, being among the few assets "in the black." What was supposed to be a hedge has become a domino. Burry doesn't mince his words. He believes Bitcoin currently lacks an organic foundation that could halt a further price slide.

If the price falls below $50,000, he warns, Bitcoin mining pools could begin to go bankrupt, and the tokenized metals market could "collapse into a black hole without buyers." This is a particularly dangerous scenario for companies and funds that have built entire strategies around the "crypto as digital gold" narrative. According to the expert, this narrative is now crumbling.

Michael Burry has heard repeatedly that "this time is different." And history has repeatedly shown that this isn't necessarily the case. His current warning raises an uncomfortable question. What happens if another wave of cryptocurrency declines again forces institutions to sell everything they can sell?

If Burry is right, Bitcoin isn't just no longer a safe haven. It could become the spark that ignites something much bigger.