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Key Takeaways
- Bitcoin fell nearly 17% in seven days, dropping below $60,000 and erasing roughly $200 billion in market cap amid record ETF outflows
- Greenspan, Saylor, and Lopp attribute the sell-off to liquidity shifting toward AI, citing Anthropic’s IPO and hundreds of billions in AI capital raises
- Strategy’s sale of 32 BTC drew social media criticism, though Greenspan called it statistically insignificant against the firm’s 843,000 BTC balance sheet
Bitcoin shed nearly 17% of its value over seven days, wiping out approximately $200 billion in market capitalization in what analysts described as the asset’s worst weekly performance since July 2024. Prominent Bitcoin advocates, including market analyst Mati Greenspan, Strategy Chairman Michael Saylor, and Bitcoin core developer Jameson Lopp, argued the sell-off reflects a liquidity shift driven by capital moving into artificial intelligence, rather than deteriorating Bitcoin fundamentals.
Bitcoin Falls Below $60,000 Amid Record ETF Outflows and AI Equity Gains
Bitcoin is trading below $60,000, down approximately 27% over the past month and more than 50% from its October 6 all-time high, according to CoinInsider data. The decline coincided with a record-breaking streak of outflows from U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, which lost $3.45 billion across 11 consecutive sessions.
James Butterfill, Head of Research at CoinShares, described the sell-off as “a pure sentiment shock rather than a structural break, as the asset class remains nearly flat for the year.” Over the past year, the Nasdaq rose 34% and the S&P 500 climbed nearly 24%, with AI-related equities among the market’s strongest performers during that period.
Greenspan, Saylor, and Lopp Point to AI Fundraising as Driver of Liquidity Shift
Greenspan, founder of Quantum Economics, told CoinDesk that the downturn is not a Bitcoin-specific problem.
“Bitcoin is not facing a Bitcoin problem. It’s facing a liquidity problem,” he said. “AI has become the market’s new obsession, but obsessions fade.”
Greenspan pointed specifically to Anthropic’s $50 billion IPO, targeting a valuation of nearly $1 trillion, as a clear indication of where market liquidity has gone. He added that the anticipated IPOs of OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX, which he said together could raise more than $200 billion, may be drawing investor capital toward AI and technology at the expense of crypto.
Saylor echoed that view on X, writing that capital markets have funded the AI buildout at approximately $400 billion over six months, and that Bitcoin ETF outflows of around $4 billion since May 14 represent “a capital rotation, not a bitcoin impairment.” Lopp similarly posted on X:
“I suspect the root cause is the bear market, combined with TradFi markets experiencing an AI boom.”
Strategy’s 32 BTC Sale and Macro Pressures Add to Bearish Sentiment
Bitcoin analyst Jason Fernandes, co-founder of AdLunam, told CoinDesk the asset is “under siege from every angle right now,” citing ETF outflows, high interest rates, inflation, capital rotating into tech stocks, and the psychological impact of Strategy’s recent Bitcoin sale.
Strategy, the largest publicly traded corporate holder of Bitcoin, sold 32 Bitcoin for $2.5 million in late May, its first sale in four years, to fund dividend payments on its perpetual preferred stock. The move drew criticism on social media, with some claiming it damaged confidence. Greenspan dismissed that reaction, saying:
“Selling 32 BTC against a balance sheet of more than 843,000 BTC is not even a rounding error.”
Mallers Urges Buying the Dip as Greenspan Cautions Against Calling a Bottom
Strike CEO Jack Mallers encouraged followers on social media to buy the dip, while Greenspan argued that record ETF outflows may be part of a rotation back toward monetary assets and that Bitcoin’s current price level could serve as an accumulation zone. Greenspan cautioned, however, that a near-term recovery is not guaranteed.
“If AI sentiment cracks, Bitcoin could get hit twice: first from liquidity leaving crypto, and then again from a broader risk-off move across markets. As for what comes next, I would be careful assuming the bottom is already in,” he added.
