a long-lasting global recession doesn't seem far off.
Really? We just got done recovering from the 2008-09 disaster, which to me doesn't seem that long ago. I'll admit that I don't exactly have my finger on the pulse of the global economy, but what signs are pointing to another recession? The stock market has been due for a correction, and a lot of stocks have dropped quite a bit lately, but that's ultimately healthy for the market. Stocks have been booming ever since 2009 and there hasn't been much in the way of a crash or correction.
The question of what happens with bitcoin if a "great recession" happens is an interesting one, since it hasn't been tested yet. I have a feeling that if a global meltdown occurs and mass unemployment is a component of that, people are going to sell bitcoin en masse and the price will probably fall significantly--and all of the altcoins that people are now hoping to get rich on today? They're going to fare even worse.
I don't see bitcoin as a safe-haven asset like gold or silver. It's way too volatile for investors looking to preserve the value of their money when markets go haywire, and if we do get an economic disaster a-knockin' at our door my bet is that metals will start rising again.
What do you mean we just got done recovering from the 2008 disaster? do you actually believe that doubling the US debt from 10 to 20 trillion in 10 years, creating trillions of dollars out of thin air to pump the stock markets and delay a deflation/depression is a recovery? Do you think that quantitive easing was some sort of actual solution to the US economic problems? The only thing that has happened since 2008 is an unbelievably costly 10 year delay that has actually made the long term situation far worse. Unfixable, actually.
In my opinion the cats out of the bag, anybody and everybody saw what a bitcoin pump can do, whereas before most were either clueless or too skeptical. When the next pump occurs far more people will be joining in so the sky's the limit how high it could go. Combined with stock market and real estate collapsing values, it could very well make Mcafee's prediction of half a million per btc come true.