Analysis: Bitcoin Weakness Driven by AI Boom, IPO Expectations and Strategy Sale

Bitcoin’s recent weakness stems from a combination of factors, including the artificial intelligence investment boom, expectations for major technology initial public offerings and Strategy’s sale of Bitcoin, according to an analysis.

CoinDesk reported on June 8 that Greg Cipolaro, NYDIG’s global head of research, wrote in a report that the crypto market is facing several headwinds at the same time.

He identified the shift of capital into the AI industry as a primary factor. With investor attention focused on AI-related stocks, money that had been flowing into crypto is moving into AI trades instead.

Cipolaro also said expectations for IPOs by major technology companies including SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic are weakening demand for Bitcoin. Institutional investors may sell existing assets to raise cash for large IPO allocations, he wrote.

Issues within the crypto industry have also added pressure. Cipolaro said recent remarks by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that the US government had seized about $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency linked to Iran heightened concerns about possible government intervention in the market.

Advances in quantum computing were another risk factor. Recent research suggesting the computing resources needed to break encryption are falling faster than expected has weakened investor sentiment, he wrote.

Strategy’s Bitcoin sale also delivered a psychological shock. The company sold 32 BTC, a negligible amount relative to its total holdings, but the sale itself affected investor perceptions because Strategy had long been viewed as a leading corporate Bitcoin buyer.

"Taken individually, each of these issues is hard to use to explain Bitcoin’s sharp drop, but several factors emerged at the same time and led to price weakness," Cipolaro said.

Still, he said on-chain indicators are nearing signals associated with a market bottom. Bitcoin’s MVRV ratio has fallen to 1.2, while the share of supply in profit has dropped below 50%, patterns that have appeared near major bottoms in past cycles.

He also noted that the decline remains relatively limited compared with previous bear markets. Bitcoin has fallen about 53% from its record high of $126,000 in October 2025, but prior cycles saw drawdowns of 75% to 90%.

"On-chain data shows the market has already gone through a substantial part of its correction," he said. "But it is still difficult to determine whether institutional inflows have fundamentally changed the structure of Bitcoin cycles, or whether they are merely delaying a larger correction."