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Bitcoin soaring to $150,000 this year

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What’s next for Bitcoin and the crypto space

Hedge fund manager Mark Yusko is predicting bitcoin will more than double this year to $150,000.

“Get off zero,” the Morgan Creek Capital Management CEO and chief investment officer told CNBC’s “Fast Money” this week.

Yusko thinks investors should have at least 1% to 3% allocated to bitcoin in their portfolios. “Bitcoin is the king. It is the dominant token. It is a better form of gold,” he said.

As of Thursday’s stock market close, bitcoin is up about 159% over the past year. It had surpassed the $73,000 level earlier in March, but was trading around $70,700 Thursday evening.

“The law of large numbers comes in. I think it can go up 10x from here easily over the next decade,” added Yusko.

He lists bitcoin exchange-traded funds, which were launched in January, as a major bullish driver for the cryptocurrency. Yusko expects the bitcoin halving to lead to a supply shock resulting in another round of major tailwinds for the flagship crypto.

The halving, which cuts the bitcoin mining reward in half to limit supply, is expected in late April.

“The big move happens post-halving,” said Yusko. “It starts to become more … parabolic toward the end of the year. And, historically about nine months after the halving, so sometime toward Thanksgiving, Christmas, we see the peak in price before the next bear market.”

Yusko’s firm also has exposure to crypto online trading platform Coinbase. “We think big things are in line for Coinbase,” he said.

Shares of Coinbase are up almost 321% over the past 12 months.

Disclosure: Yusko’s firms own bitcoin, ethereum, gold, Coinbase and Nvidia.

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Is a retirement savings crisis looming?

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Tens of millions of private-sector workers lack access to a retirement savings plan through their employer, which experts at the AARP Public Policy Institute warn could pose a significant burden to future taxpayers.

The institute estimates that 57 million private sector workers in the U.S. – about half of the workforce – are not offered either a traditional pension or a retirement savings plan through their employer, a problem that has persisted for decades, according to David John, senior strategic policy adviser at AARP.

In April, an AARP survey showed that 20% of adults at least 50 years old had no retirement savings, and more than half were worried they would not have enough money to support them in retirement.

John said that individuals in their 50s or early 60s who are facing retirement without enough savings are in the midst of a crisis. 

IRS INCREASES 401(K), OTHER RETIREMENT PLAN CONTRIBUTION LIMITS FOR 2025

For society as a whole, he said, “It’s not a crisis right now, but it’s pretty inevitable that it will be.”

“It’s a really significant problem, and it’s one that’s going to affect all of us, because if we’re not the ones with the small retirement savings to supplement Social Security, we’re going to be the ones who are paying the taxes to help the people who didn’t have that opportunity,” John said. 

401k pension retirement

An AARP survey showed that 20% of adults at least 50 years old had no retirement savings. (Annette Riedl/picture alliance via Getty Images / Getty Images)

If many people lack adequate retirement savings, they will likely require more forms of public assistance – from nonprofit organizations or government programs. This could include support for health care needs, housing or other essential services.

To help, more than a dozen states have already set up or are in the process of implementing state-facilitated retirement savings plans for small businesses, according to John. 

Small businesses are more likely not to provide retirement savings benefits to employees compared to larger corporations. Pew Charity Trusts cited Bureau of Labor Statistics data showing that 57% of private-sector firms with fewer than 100 workers offered a retirement benefit plan as of 2023. However, 86% of companies with at least 100 workers and about 91% of firms with at least 500 workers did.

FLORIDA CFO REQUESTS REPORT ON POTENTIAL FOR INVESTING SOME STATE RETIREMENT SYSTEM FUNDS INTO DIGITAL ASSETS

For small businesses, their main focus is often on staying afloat, leaving little time or resources to handle such tasks. But these state programs, such as CalSavers, California’s retirement savings program for workers who do not have a way to save for retirement at work, are a way to help that does not have any cost to a small business. 

Savings jar

More than a dozen states have already set up or are in the process of implementing state-facilitated retirement savings plans for small businesses. (iStock / iStock)

Greg McBride, chief financial analyst for Bankrate, told FOX Business that the bigger issue is that most workers don’t recognize that they can still contribute to a retirement account independently, without relying on their employer.

“Something lost on consumers is that lack of access to a retirement savings plan through your employer doesn’t mean that you can’t save for retirement on a tax-advantaged basis,” McBride said. 

If someone or their spouse with whom they jointly file taxes with has an earned income, they are eligible to contribute to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA), which provides tax advantages for retirement savings. 

Retirement planning

It’s estimated that 57 million private sector workers in the U.S. are not offered either a traditional pension or a retirement savings plan through their employer. (iStock / iStock)

According to the IRS, there are several types of IRAs available, including a traditional IRA, a tax-advantaged personal savings plan where contributions may be tax-deductible, and a Roth IRA, a tax-advantaged personal savings plan where contributions are not deductible but qualified distributions may be tax-free.

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While McBride said the “lack of employee-sponsored retirement savings isn’t a barrier to saving for retirement,” he did acknowledge that it is harder. There is no employee match and there are lower contribution limits for IRAs compared to workplace-based plans, according to McBride. 

Still, he doesn’t believe enough workers are taking advantage of these accounts.

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Morgan Stanley picks China stocks to ride out a worst-case scenario in U.S. tensions

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Elon Musk endorses Trump’s transition co-chair Howard Lutnick for Treasury secretary

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Elon Musk at the tenth Breakthrough Prize ceremony held at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on April 13, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.

The Hollywood Reporter | The Hollywood Reporter | Getty Images

On Saturday, Elon Musk shared who he is endorsing for Treasury secretary on X, a cabinet position President-elect Donald Trump has yet to announce his preference to fill.

Musk wrote that Howard Lutnick, Trump-Vance transition co-chair and CEO and chairman of Cantor Fitzgerald, BGC Group and Newmark Group chairman, will “actually enact change.”

Lutnick and Key Square Group founder and CEO Scott Bessent are reportedly top picks to run the Treasury Department.

Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, also included his thoughts on Bessent in his post on X.

“My view fwiw is that Bessent is a business-as-usual choice,” he wrote.

“Business-as-usual is driving America bankrupt so we need change one way or another,” he added.

Musk also stated it would be “interesting to hear more people weigh in on this for @realDonaldTrump to consider feedback.”

Howard Lutnick, chairman and chief executive officer of Cantor Fitzgerald LP, left, and Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla Inc., during a campaign event with former US President Donald Trump, not pictured, at Madison Square Garden in New York, US, on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

In a statement to Politico, Trump transition spokesperson Karoline Leavitt made it clear that the president-elect has not made any decisions regarding the position of Treasury secretary.

“President-elect Trump is making decisions on who will serve in his second administration,” Leavitt said in a statement. “Those decisions will be announced when they are made.”

Both Lutnick and Bessent have close ties to Trump. Lutnick and Trump have known each other for decades, and the CEO has even hosted a fundraiser for the president-elect.

The Wall Street Journal also reported that Lutnick has already been helping Trump review candidates for cabinet positions in his administration.

On the other hand, Bessent was a key economic advisor to the president-elect during his 2024 campaign. Bessent also received an endorsement from Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, according to Semafor.

“He’s from South Carolina, I know him well, he’s highly qualified,” Graham said.

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