The post The next global financial crisis is closer than you think appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

The world’s financial system is a ticking time bomb. Debt, geopolitical tensions, and sensitive markets have created a dangerous time bomb that could detonate in 2025. If you’ve been paying attention, the crisis is practically knocking at our doors. Global corporate debt is suffocating the system. At $22.1 trillion, it’s higher than ever, with $11.3 trillion maturing by the end of 2025. Half of this debt is rated just a hair above junk status, meaning one bad quarter could send these companies spiraling. Add the consumer debt pile in the U.S.—now at $16 trillion with credit card balances topping $1 trillion—and you’ve got a world leaning dangerously close to financial collapse. Debt levels are killing us Nonfinancial corporations alone account for 62% of all maturing debt. Here’s the problem: most of this debt is stuck in the lowest investment-grade rating, ‘BBB.’ One downgrade, and borrowing costs will skyrocket for companies already on shaky ground. The U.S. is staring at $2.42 trillion in maturing corporate debt for 2025, far outpacing previous years. Refinancing this mountain in a climate of rising interest rates? Good luck. Meanwhile, consumers are drowning. Debt-to-income ratios in the U.S. hit 145%, signaling that people are borrowing way beyond their means. Delinquencies on credit cards and auto loans are creeping up by 1-2%, reflecting the growing number of households struggling to keep up. Inflation might be slowing, but wages aren’t growing fast enough to ease the pain. And then there’s national debt. The U.S. is sitting on a $36 trillion tab, with $4.7 trillion added during the debt ceiling suspension between mid-2023 and January 2025. The Treasury is now using “extraordinary measures” to keep the lights on, but those tricks won’t last forever. By mid-2025, the so-called “X-Date” will hit, when the government runs out of cash. The…

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Filed under: News - @ January 4, 2025 9:16 am