As US Economy Resembles 'Emerging Market', Bitcoin Is More 'MAG-8' Than Gold, Mike Novogratz Says

Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz on Wednesday warned that the U.S. economy is starting to behave like an emerging market.

Speaking with CNBC, Novogratz said that macroeconomic instability, including surging interest rates and tariff shocks, is rattling global investors and weakening market confidence.

This shift is already visible in bond and currency markets—and it's making institutional players nervous, according to Novogratz.

"We're starting to behave more like an emerging market than a developed market," he said.

The comment came amid heightened market uncertainty following President Donald Trump's sweeping new tariffs and the accompanying bond sell-off.

Yields on 10-year and 30-year U.S. Treasury bonds surged to 4.6% and over 5%, respectively, in recent days, unsettling investor sentiment.

According to Novogratz, the combination of fiscal stress, geopolitical realignment, and abrupt policy shifts is creating economic conditions more common in less mature financial systems.

"It's the early stages," he said, but the trend "should get us all nervous."

The spike in borrowing costs is especially concerning.

"Just the increase in our interest rates since this thing started is a higher annual cost than all the doge savings," Novogratz quipped, referencing the sharp jump in federal interest obligations due to rising bond yields.

In his view, the U.S. government's rapid push to overhaul trade relationships and reduce the fiscal deficit is running headlong into market realities.

"I think the global markets are saying you’re going too fast, and this strategy is not going to work," he said.

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Why It Matters: While gold has rallied sharply amid the instability, Bitcoin's behavior has diverged.

"Bitcoin has been the MAG-8 and not gold," Novogratz noted, referring to the performance of high-growth tech stocks.

Despite the macro backdrop favoring hard assets, Bitcoin BTC/USD has yet to receive a strong safe-haven bid.

The veteran investor explained that Bitcoin needs "more calm" for adoption to resume. "When there's this kind of chaos, the new buyers disappear," he said.

Unlike gold, which has seen rising demand from foreign central banks, Bitcoin's recent price action has been driven by short-term traders, not long-term accumulation.

Still, Novogratz sees broader implications in gold's ascent.

"Gold and Bitcoin are report cards on financial stewardship," he said. "If you're the secretary of the treasury, your report card is what's gold doing and what's the yield curve telling you."

He added that recent events may even accelerate moves toward alternative financial systems, predicting, "We're going to have a BRICS currency at one point in the next 24 months… I bet you part of it’s backed by gold, the digital version."

What’s Next: As for Washington's policy trajectory, Novogratz cautioned against moving too fast.

"We’re literally ripping up the medium-term horizon overnight," he said, warning that the current mix of rising debt, structural shifts in trade, and aggressive policy experimentation could spook global markets further.

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