What happens if Bitcoin falls below $40,000 per coin? This question is becoming increasingly important because Bitcoin does not have an earnings report, cash flow statement, or productive output that can fundamentally alter its trajectory.

In the world of productive assets, there is usually a mechanism for changing the narrative. A company’s share price may be collapsing, but then it reports exceptional revenue growth, introduces a breakthrough product, or delivers strong profits, and suddenly the market reprices the business. Fundamentals can change the direction of the asset.

For Bitcoin, however, the principal driver remains belief and collective conviction. There is no quarterly earnings report, no dividend, no new factory, and no productive activity that directly influences its valuation. Its value is primarily anchored on what market participants believe it should be worth.

Unfortunately, in the economics many of us learned from A. O. Lawal’s textbooks, belief by itself is not directly recognized as a factor of production. Land, labour, capital, knowledge, and entrepreneurship create economic output and provide the basis for valuation. Bitcoin’s challenge is that its valuation is much more dependent on sustained confidence than on productive fundamentals.

That does not mean Bitcoin cannot rise again. It simply means that when confidence weakens, there is no earnings report waiting around the corner to reset the narrative. And that is BTC’s weakest point.

In a pointed declaration of technological self-reliance, Chinese cybersecurity powerhouse 360 Security Technology has rolled out what it describes as a homegrown counterpart to Anthropic’s powerful Mythos AI system, framing the U.S. model as a strategic capability that Beijing simply cannot allow to remain a one-sided advantage.

Speaking at the ISC.AI 2026 cybersecurity conference in Beijing on Wednesday, 360 founder Zhou Hongyi unveiled two new AI-driven security tools under the banner “Yitian Tulong” — a reference to legendary weapons from a classic Chinese martial arts novel, evoking themes of unmatched power and national defense.

The announcement underpins China’s accelerating push to close the gap in offensive and defensive cyber tools amid deepening U.S. restrictions on advanced AI technologies.

One tool, dubbed “Tulongfeng,” is designed to automatically discover software vulnerabilities, which Zhou boldly called “China’s version of Mythos.” A second system, “Yitianzhen,” focuses on automating cyber defense and incident response. Together, they represent 360’s bid to build a comprehensive AI-powered security arsenal capable of both identifying weaknesses and mounting rapid countermeasures.

“This kind of powerful weapon that can change the landscape of cyber offence and defense cannot be held only by others,” Zhou said in his speech, according to a transcript published by the company. “We cannot afford to wait.”

Mythos, previewed by Anthropic in April, has sparked alarm in Washington and beyond for its ability to rapidly uncover vulnerabilities in operating systems, browsers, and other critical software. In a dramatic move earlier this month, the U.S. government ordered Anthropic to suspend exports of a less powerful version of the model worldwide, citing national security risks. Cybersecurity experts have warned that such tools could dramatically amplify the speed and scale of cyberattacks if they fall into the wrong hands.

Zhou argued that allowing the U.S. to maintain exclusive access to Mythos-like capabilities would create “one-way transparency,” where American entities could scan Chinese systems while Beijing lacked comparable tools. His remarks echo a growing sentiment in Chinese state media and policy circles that the country must match or surpass Western advances in AI-driven cyber tools to protect critical infrastructure and maintain strategic parity.

A Calculated Response to U.S. Export Controls

360’s development is believed to be part of China’s broader strategy of circumventing U.S. export restrictions on advanced chips and frontier AI models. Since 2022, Washington has tightened controls on high-end semiconductors, arguing they could enhance Chinese military capabilities. While domestic models still lag U.S. counterparts by an estimated 20-30% in base capability, according to Zhou, Chinese firms are increasingly turning to “agent”-based architectures that combine existing models with specialized security expertise, vulnerability databases, and automated workflows.

Objectively speaking, domestic models still have a 20%-30% gap in base capability,” Zhou acknowledged. “China cannot wait until model capabilities have fully caught up before starting vulnerability discovery.”

He contrasted the U.S. approach, relying on the “strongest model, the strongest computing power and the strongest chips”, with 360’s method of building a complete, reliable system.

“If Mythos is a top-end chip, what we are building is a complete machine that can run stably, work 24 hours a day and make fewer mistakes. If the U.S. route is to cultivate a genius hacker, 360’s route is to organize a professional attack-and-defense team,” he said.

The development comes against a backdrop of mutual accusations between Washington and Beijing over offensive cyber operations targeting critical infrastructure. Last year, Anthropic reported that hackers had exploited vulnerabilities in its Claude AI to attack around 30 global organizations. A separate IBM and Palo Alto Networks survey found that 67% of executives had been targeted by AI-enhanced attacks in the past year.

For China, the stakes are existential. With its economy and military increasingly digitized, vulnerability to advanced AI-driven reconnaissance or attacks could have devastating consequences. Zhou, a veteran entrepreneur and member of China’s top political advisory body, framed the issue in stark national security terms, reflecting Beijing’s view that AI cybersecurity tools are no longer optional luxuries but strategic necessities.

360’s move also illustrates a growing trend in China: leveraging “agentic” AI systems that integrate multiple tools and domain expertise rather than depending solely on raw model scale. This pragmatic approach may help narrow the capability gap faster than attempting to match U.S. frontier models head-on under export control constraints.

Implications for Global Cybersecurity and Tech Competition

However, the emergence of a credible Chinese response to Mythos is expected to accelerate an AI-driven cyber arms race, with both sides racing to develop tools that blur the lines between defense and offense. For global companies and governments, this raises difficult questions about supply chain security, vulnerability disclosure, and the dual-use nature of advanced AI systems.

Against that backdrop, Western nations may view 360’s tools with suspicion, similar to how they regard other Chinese cybersecurity offerings. At the same time, the development underscores the challenges of containing AI proliferation in a world of fragmented technology supply chains and competing national interests.

However, the announcement reinforces 360’s evolution from a consumer antivirus provider to a major player in enterprise and government security. Founded by Zhou, the company gained prominence through antivirus software before expanding into broader digital defense solutions. With the ability to deliver “Mythos-equivalent capabilities” through integrated agent systems,  the company’s position in China’s domestic market and potentially in friendly international markets wary of full U.S. alignment is expected to be strengthened.

China is accelerating faster than expected toward widespread commercial deployment of humanoid robots, prompting Morgan Stanley to sharply upgrade its forecasts for the second time this year and positioning the sector as one of the most compelling investment themes in the country’s rapidly evolving technology industry.

In a research note released Tuesday, the Wall Street bank raised its projection for humanoid robot shipments in China to 50,000 units for 2025 — nearly double its previous estimate of 28,000 and quadruple its initial January forecast of 14,000. The bank now sees the domestic market reaching $2 billion this year and expanding to $15 billion by 2030, with annual shipments climbing to 446,000 units by the end of the decade. Importantly, these figures cover only external sales, excluding prototypes, trials, and internal use.

“Commercial verification, policy support, and supply-chain feedback point to faster humanoid adoption in China,” said Sheng Zhong, equity analyst at Morgan Stanley.

This upgraded outlook indicates that what began as demonstration projects and government-backed experiments is quickly transitioning into real-world applications in factories, logistics hubs, retail environments, and service settings. Chinese manufacturers are scaling production at a pace that has caught many global observers by surprise, driven by a potent combination of state ambition and private-sector execution.

National Strategy Meets Market Forces

Beijing has elevated “embodied AI”, artificial intelligence integrated into physical systems like robots, as a core priority in its next five-year plan. Local governments are rolling out subsidies, offering free or discounted land and office space to startups, and directing banks to provide preferential lending.

This top-down push is creating fertile ground for commercialization, even as Western competitors like Tesla continue to face delays. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has pushed back the public sales timeline for Optimus to the end of 2027. Last year, roughly 13,000 humanoid robots were shipped worldwide, according to research firm Omdia. Chinese companies claimed the top five spots by volume, with American firm Figure AI ranking seventh and Tesla ninth.

The gap in deployment speed is widening, giving China a potential first-mover advantage in turning laboratory concepts into factory-floor realities.

Joe Ngai, senior partner and chairman of McKinsey Greater China, described humanoid robotics as potentially “the next big frontier” for investors tracking China’s tech evolution.

“When you walk outside [in China], you see all these startups and more advanced companies, all these robots dancing — but robotics usage on the industrial side is often a below-the-radar story. If you go to any Chinese factory right now, there’s more automation and robotics that’s been deployed than anywhere else in the world,” he said.

Morgan Stanley’s field research supports this view, pointing to accelerating rollouts in manufacturing, logistics, unmanned retail, and interactive services. The bank highlighted Shanghai-listed Leaderdrive as a major beneficiary, raising its 12-month target price to 464 yuan ($68) from 269 yuan. Leaderdrive supplies precision components to domestic humanoid makers such as Ubtech and Galbot and could capture 40% of the global market this year, declining to a still-dominant 25% over the longer term.

Chinese robotics firms are increasingly looking abroad for growth. Seer Intelligent, which began trading in Hong Kong on Wednesday, has expanded beyond China since 2021, with overseas revenue from more than 65 countries accounting for 18% of total sales last year. Chief operating officer Jonathan Fan told CNBC that the company is prioritizing geographic diversification and strict regulatory compliance to mitigate risks.

“Geopolitical uncertainty and simmering trade tensions remain the most significant headwind,” Fan said.

Washington’s growing alarm over China’s AI and robotics progress adds another layer of complexity. U.S. policymakers worry about technological dependence and strategic vulnerabilities. Suzanne Nossel, Lester Crown senior fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, warned in a recent Foreign Policy piece that treating the AI contest purely as a race for new capabilities could leave the U.S. ahead in invention but behind in real-world adoption and influence.

“A sales campaign for the U.S. AI stack will not jump-start adoption fast enough to keep pace with China,” she said.

This competitive dynamic is accelerating innovation on both sides, but China’s ability to combine state support, rapid commercialization, and domestic supply chain integration gives it distinct advantages in scaling physical AI systems.

The Long-Term Outlook

Morgan Stanley’s upgraded forecast underscores humanoid robotics as a high-conviction theme for investors within China’s broader technology push. The sector sits at the intersection of industrial upgrading, AI advancement, and national security priorities, potentially offering multi-year growth tailwinds. However, risks remain, including execution challenges, potential overcapacity as more players enter, and escalating geopolitical friction that could disrupt overseas expansion or component supplies.

The speed of China’s progress suggests the country could emerge as a dominant force in embodied AI, much as it did in electric vehicles and solar energy. Factories are already deploying more automation than anywhere else, and the transition from novelty demonstrations to practical, revenue-generating applications is happening quicker than many anticipated.

As McKinsey’s Ngai observed, much of this transformation remains “below the radar” for international observers focused on consumer-facing tech. Yet the industrial reality on the ground points to a deeper structural shift that could reshape global manufacturing competitiveness in the years ahead.