And then, from the east, looms the ever-looming shadow of Washington. The United States, that grand experiment of liberty, faces the specter of a government shutdown. Betting markets, like the cruel hand of fate itself, decree an 86% chance of this catastrophe. Ah, the politicians, locked in eternal gridlock over their budgets, creating ripples of fear, trembling through the markets. The financial world, in all its wisdom, recoils in terror, and here we are, watching it all unfold with bated breath. It’s nothing new, though. Shutdowns, as the historian will tell you, rarely have lasting consequences. The military marches on, the air traffic control system hums along. But it is the uncertainty, the storm of doubt, that drives us mad. Analysts, like fortune tellers, peer into their crystal balls, predicting that for the next 48 hours, we shall see nothing but chaos. Bitcoin and its brothers shall fall into wild swings, as if they, too, cannot escape the madness. 📉