A former Bank of England analyst has warned that official confirmation of alien life could trigger massive financial turmoil.
Helen McCaw, who worked in financial security at the BoE until 2012, wrote to Governor Andrew Bailey urging contingency plans for scenarios involving US-led disclosure of non-human intelligence.
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It’s not an official BoE position, the central bank hasn’t commented publicly, and there’s no evidence of active “bracing” by current experts or the governor.
But the letter, covered by The Sunday Times over the weekend, has surprisingly sparked crazy speculation.
What McCaw Actually Wrote About Aliens
McCaw argues that if the US (or another credible authority) confirms technologically advanced non-human intelligence behind UAPs, the Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (or shall we call them UFOs?), it could cause “ontological shock,” which is basically a fundamental rewrite of shared reality.
Short-term: panic selling, bank runs, payment disruptions, civil disorder as people catastrophize or swing to euphoria. Long-term: sustained distrust in governments and fiat systems could drive capital to borderless, self-custodial assets like Bitcoin.
She notes Bitcoin’s fixed 21 million cap remains immutable even if space mining upends gold’s scarcity narrative.
The BoE hasn’t endorsed this, it’s McCaw’s personal advisory, rooted in her crisis-planning background, but she sees ignoring it as institutional negligence given ongoing US declassification efforts.
Is There a “Safe Haven” When Alien Crisis Hits?
Crypto has long positioned itself as a hedge against institutional failure. Think post-2008 Bitcoin origin story or 2022’s FTX fallout when trust in centralized finance cratered.
We’ve seen similar “what if” plays, during geopolitical flares or banking scares, Bitcoin inflows spike as a “flight to non-sovereign” asset.
McCaw’s scenario takes that to the extreme, and I mean extreme, alien disclosure as the ultimate exogenous shock, dwarfing wars or pandemics.
It’s speculative, but eerily similar to how DeFi gained traction post-traditional finance crises, because when faith in legacy systems wobbles, decentralized alternatives get a look.
No hard data ties aliens to crypto yet, but Polymarket odds sit around 13% for US alien confirmation before 2027, showing the idea has some speculative traction.
And you know, what if they’re not coming in peace?
Extreme Black Swans and Trust Collapse
I couldn’t even imagine blacker swans than aliens. This taps into a classic fear, what happens when a civilization-scale revelation shatters institutional legitimacy?
Traditional safe havens like gold or bonds could falter if “power greater than any government” shows up.
Gold might lose scarcity appeal if aliens mine asteroids, fiat could face capital controls or inflation fears. Bitcoin, by contrast, runs on math, not authority, it’s censorship-resistant, verifiable, global.
In McCaw’s view, disclosure could be the ultimate “trust no one” moment, pushing capital toward immutable code over fallible institutions.
TradFi has contingency plans for wars, pandemics, cyber attacks, so why not this?
The scale is absurd, but the logic is consistent, when everything feels rigged, people hunt for neutral, borderless alternatives.
Alien Disclosure – But Hopefully Not Today
If McCaw’s right and trust collapses, Bitcoin’s properties may shine, self-custody, fixed supply, no single point of failure.
It could see massive inflows as the ultimate “distrust hedge.” But it likely won’t come without a price.
Short-term sell-off (crypto’s 24/7 liquidity makes it easy to dump), extreme volatility, and regulatory backlash if governments panic.
Plus, the odds are tiny. Disclosure isn’t imminent, and this is one ex-analyst’s thought experiment, not official policy. Still, crypto thrives on “what if institutions fail?” narratives.
From zero to global reserve contender in 15 years isn’t nothing. Maybe that’s the real shock.
Real Concern or Delusional Speculation?
Critics will roll their eyes, alien disclosure as market trigger sounds like fringe conspiracy bait. It’s hard not to agree with them, as come on, aliens?
Also, it’s quite an important detail that McCaw’s letter is personal, not official, and the BoE hasn’t weighed in.
But her background in crisis planning gives it weight, central banks do model extreme scenarios. The data will tell if this ever moves from hypothetical to real.
So no worries, this isn’t the BoE bracing for aliens. It’s one former insider floating a doomsday prep idea.
Sensationalized? Absolutely. Fake news? Not at all, the letter is real. But in crypto, where trust is already thin, even wild “what ifs” get traction. However crazy the idea is.
Disclosure:This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
Kriptoworld.com accepts no liability for any errors in the articles or for any financial loss resulting from incorrect information.
Cryptocurrency and Web3 expert, founder of Kriptoworld
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With years of experience covering the blockchain space, András delivers insightful reporting on DeFi, tokenization, altcoins, and crypto regulations shaping the digital economy.
📅 Published: January 22, 2026 • 🕓 Last updated: January 22, 2026
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