Bitcoin Sell-Off Intensifies at $68,000 as Anthropic IPO Frenzy Sparks Turmoil

Analysts are questioning whether Nvidia’s recent problems have any direct connection to Bitcoin’s ongoing selloff. Instead, they point to investors shifting liquidity toward Anthropic’s upcoming IPO and a wider move away from riskier investments as potential reasons behind the cryptocurrency’s weakness.

Bitcoin (BTC) slipped to approximately $68,000 overnight, touching its lowest level since August. The move has pushed its losses beyond 20% since early October, as several market developments continue to undermine demand for digital assets.

Uncertainty surrounding Nvidia, the world’s most valuable publicly traded company, has shaken confidence in the AI sector. Meanwhile, persistent inflation and political uncertainty following the U.S. midterm elections have added pressure to broader financial markets. However, Anthropic’s highly anticipated stock market debut could be playing a more immediate role in Bitcoin’s latest decline.

Seamus Rocca, CEO of Xapo Bank, believes the opening of Anthropic’s IPO subscription books may have contributed to the selloff. The offering reportedly attracted six times more orders than the number of shares available, encouraging investors to move funds out of liquid markets to secure allocations.

Anthropic is reportedly targeting up to $64.4 billion in fundraising. Rocca suggested that investors seeking exposure to the offering may be selling Bitcoin and other easily liquidated assets to raise the necessary cash. He compared the situation with SpaceX’s IPO earlier this year, when investors reportedly redirected capital away from Bitcoin, temporarily tightening market liquidity.

Rocca explained that major public offerings can attract substantial speculative interest, particularly when investors anticipate quick returns. Under these circumstances, liquid investments such as Bitcoin can become an immediate source of funding.

Nvidia Weakness and Strategy’s MSCI Risk Add to Selling Pressure

Beyond the Anthropic IPO, Rocca identified several developments weighing on investor confidence. These include changing technology stock valuations following Jensen Huang’s unexpected departure from Nvidia, recent cybersecurity incidents, and the possibility of Strategy losing its place in MSCI’s global indexes.

Still, some analysts argue that Nvidia’s difficulties are not directly responsible for Bitcoin’s weakness. They instead describe the decline as part of a broader market-wide reduction in risk and leverage.

Mark Connors, chief investment strategist at Risk Dimensions, said there is no direct relationship between Nvidia’s situation and Bitcoin’s price action. He pointed to falling gold prices as evidence that investors are reducing exposure across the AI trade and other market segments.

Chris Sullivan, co-portfolio manager at Hyperium Decimus, shared a similar assessment, arguing that Nvidia’s problems do not have an obvious connection to Bitcoin’s decline.

Sullivan highlighted several factors that could better explain the selling pressure, including rising bearish bets against Bitcoin. Short open interest has reportedly moved above its August peak, while BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has experienced substantial withdrawals.

He also cited extreme fear among crypto investors and growing expectations of a possible 50-basis-point interest rate increase within the next 30 days.

The weakness has not been limited to digital assets. Precious metals have also declined alongside cryptocurrencies, suggesting that investors may be reducing risk across multiple asset classes rather than responding to a single Bitcoin-specific development.

Sullivan described the simultaneous declines in metals and cryptocurrencies as unusual, highlighting how unpredictable market movements can become during periods of heightened uncertainty.

Jim Ferraioli, head of crypto research at the Schwab Center for Financial Research, also questioned whether Nvidia was directly responsible for Bitcoin’s downturn, apart from its broader influence on market sentiment.

He identified MSCI’s potential decision to remove Strategy from its benchmark indexes as another possible source of pressure. Such a move could force funds tracking those indexes to reduce their Strategy holdings, potentially affecting the stock of the largest corporate Bitcoin holder.

However, Ferraioli noted that Bitcoin’s steep decline occurred at approximately 11 p.m. Eastern Time, making it difficult to establish whether either the Nvidia developments or the MSCI announcement triggered the move.

Despite the drop below $70,000, Rocca maintained that Bitcoin has performed relatively well considering the number of negative developments hitting financial markets.

Could Anthropic’s IPO Follow the SpaceX Bitcoin Selloff Pattern?

Strive CEO Matt Cole believes Bitcoin’s latest correction bears similarities to its decline ahead of SpaceX’s $75 billion IPO in June.

In a post on X, Cole noted that Bitcoin lost 19% of its value during the 50 days preceding SpaceX’s public listing. Ahead of Anthropic’s planned debut, the cryptocurrency has recorded a comparable 18% decline over the same period.

The previous pattern did not produce an immediate recovery. Bitcoin continued falling after SpaceX went public, eventually reaching its lowest point 18 days later. It subsequently reversed direction and gained 28% by the 100th day following the listing.

Cole believes a similar outcome following Anthropic’s IPO could indicate that much of Bitcoin’s current correction is already complete, potentially allowing the market to recover over the next several months.

Using the previous IPO-related price pattern as a reference, he suggested Bitcoin could move toward $90,000 by late February.

However, the comparison should be treated cautiously. Bitcoin’s weakness around the SpaceX IPO also coincided with concerns about potential BTC sales by Michael Saylor’s Strategy. As a result, the earlier decline cannot be attributed entirely to investors shifting liquidity into the IPO.