Financial markets may need a time-out

A steep drop in financial markets and cryptocurrencies? That’s officially a top concern for the European Central Bank’s Alvaro Santos Pereira.

According to Bloomberg, the Bank of Portugal governor stressed that central banks need to keep their “crisis-fighting toolkit” ready in case another shock hits. In other words, don’t throw out those rate-cutting scissors just yet.

This comes after a week of financial chaos—stocks plunged (yet rebounded Friday), Treasury yields nosedived, and crypto assets struggled alongside other risk assets. Markets steadied only after a Federal Reserve official dangled the possibility of a rate cut like a shiny carrot.

Pereira pointed out that the “overvaluation” of U.S. stocks and crypto are ticking time bombs, especially amid trade wars and geopolitical uncertainty.

With the ECB’s Financial Stability Review coming next week, Pereira’s warning serves as a reminder: things could get bumpy, and we might need to reach for the monetary “emergency brakes” sooner than expected.