Bitcoin (BTC) fell below $60,000, hitting a new cycle low. Investors are hunting for a culprit, but NYDIG Global Head of Research Greg Cipolaro says no single cause exists.
In a report last week, Cipolaro argued that Bitcoin and the broader crypto market face multiple concurrent headwinds weighing on prices.
AI ranks near the top of his list. Bitcoin increasingly competes for capital with a sector that has become the market's dominant growth story. Cipolaro believes the overlap between AI and crypto investors is larger than many assume: both attract funds chasing emerging tech and outsized returns. As AI stocks keep outperforming, capital has followed and shifted away from crypto, he wrote.
Tech IPOs Drain Liquidity
Investors are also bracing for what could be the biggest cycle of tech IPOs in years. Companies like SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic are widely expected to go public, with SpaceX already well into the IPO process. Large IPOs often prompt institutions to hoard cash and trim existing positions before new offerings, creating a potential headwind for crypto demand.
Quantum Threat Returns
Crypto faces a series of industry-specific concerns. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's statement that the U.S. seized about $1 billion of crypto assets linked to Iran raised questions about government influence over digital asset markets. Details remain limited, but Cipolaro said the episode challenged one of crypto's core narratives for some investors.
The quantum computing threat also re-entered the conversation after researchers published new work showing the computing resources needed to attack widely used cryptographic systems could shrink faster than previously estimated.
Then there is Strategy (MSTR) selling bitcoin — a move that directly pressures prices.