The Coming Liquidity Crunch? Michael Howell’s September Warning and What It Means for Bitcoin

As the global economy sails through choppy waters in 2025, market participants are scanning the horizon for signs of turbulence—and perhaps none are more watchful than Michael Howell, CEO of CrossBorder Capital. Known for his deep focus on global liquidity flows, Howell is sounding the alarm for what could be a critical juncture in September 2025.

His concern? A sharp, possibly “manufactured” tightening in liquidity conditions—driven not by economic fundamentals, but by regulatory and structural changes in financial markets. For Bitcoin investors, this scenario carries significant implications. While the world’s leading cryptocurrency has been surging in a liquidity-friendly environment, that same tailwind could become a headwind in a matter of months.

What’s the Big Deal About Liquidity?

To understand Howell’s concerns, it’s crucial to grasp what liquidity really means in financial markets. “Liquidity,” in his terms, is essentially the ability to convert assets into cash quickly and without significantly impacting prices. Howell breaks this down into three major sources:

1. Central Bank Liquidity – This includes things like interest rates, quantitative easing (QE), and the size of central bank balance sheets.
2. Private Sector Liquidity – Largely dependent on the availability of collateral, especially government bonds.
3. Commercial Bank Liquidity – Reflected in

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