Overview
- Helen McCaw, a former financial security analyst at the Bank of England, has written to Governor Andrew Bailey urging preparations for a potential White House confirmation of non‑human intelligence.
- Her warning describes an “ontological shock” scenario that could trigger extreme market volatility, bank runs, payment disruptions, and even unrest within hours of a high‑credibility announcement.
- She outlines possible rushes into perceived safe havens such as gold, other precious metals, and government bonds, while noting that speculation about future space‑mining could undermine gold’s scarcity appeal.
- McCaw also flags a potential rotation into bitcoin and other digital assets if confidence in government‑backed instruments falters.
- The alert cites U.S. declassification talk and the documentary The Age of Disclosure, with prediction markets assigning low probabilities to near‑term confirmation, and the Bank of England has not publicly replied.