In recent weeks, Bitcoin has faced one of its strongest pressures in 2026, with its price dropping more than 10% within a single week.
US Spot Bitcoin ETF funds have experienced continuous capital outflows, setting new records, while the US stock market, especially AI and semiconductor sectors, has consistently hit new highs amid IPO filings from leading companies such as Anthropic, SpaceX, and OpenAI.
This situation raises a crucial question in the global financial market.Are investors selling Bitcoin to reallocate funds into AI?
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What has attracted the most attention from analysts in the past week is that capital leaving crypto hasn't disappeared from the financial system but is flowing into a hotter asset class.
This year, semiconductor stocks have become market stars, led by AMD, Intel, and Micron, surging due to AI infrastructure investments. Meanwhile, private companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX have become new targets for institutional investors worldwide, especially after Anthropic formally filed for IPO and OpenAI is heavily expected to go public soon.
One of the clearest voices on this topic is Yoshitaka Kitao Chairman of SBI Holdings and former CFO of SoftBank. He stated that the recent weakness in Bitcoin does not reflect fundamental problems with crypto but is the result of a major capital rotation.
Many investors are accumulating cash to prepare for the massive IPOs of OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX. In other words, money is not fleeing risky assets but shifting from crypto to AI.
This perspective is supported by Shaurya Malwa an analyst at CoinDesk, who said that if OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX do go public, it will be among the largest IPO waves in history.
The combined valuation of these three companies could exceed $3 trillion, meaning institutional investors must reallocate substantial capital to participate, and in investment, the same funds cannot be invested everywhere simultaneously.
However, several analysts believe attributing everything to AI may oversimplify matters, as Bitcoin's recent weakness also stems from multiple factors including regulatory uncertainty in the US, futures market liquidations, overall risk-off sentiment, outflows from Spot Bitcoin ETFs, and notably, the first Bitcoin sale in years by Strategy.
A significant pressure this week arose when Michael Saylor's Strategy disclosed selling 32 bitcoins, worth approximately $2.5 million, to cover preferred stock dividend obligations.
Although this sale accounted for only 0.004% of the Bitcoin holdings of the company,
it marked the first sale since 2022 and caused significant psychological shock in the market. Since Saylor had been a staunch advocate of “Never Sell Your Bitcoin,” investors began questioning whether Strategy is shifting from relentless accumulation to using Bitcoin as a funding source for corporate operations. This selling triggered hundreds of millions of dollars in long-position liquidations and accelerated an exaggerated price decline.
Data from Coin Metrics shows Bitcoin fell over 13% in one week, causing June to start under heavy pressure and possibly marking the worst week since the start of the year, as previously positive market drivers weaken.
Bitcoin traditionally benefited from key narratives attracting investors, such as being “digital gold” amid geopolitical uncertainty, a hedge against inflation, or a high-risk tech asset. However, this year, global investors are focused on OpenAI, Anthropic, AI agents, data centers, semiconductors, and AI infrastructure.
Observations note that while US stock markets keep hitting record highs, Bitcoin has weakened and, especially in recent months, has failed to play any clear role.
For example, consider the opinion of Rob Ginsberg, an analyst at Wolfe Research, who questioned, “If tech stocks can deliver 2-3 times returns in just weeks, why would investors hold crypto?” Though somewhat ironic, this reflects part of the current market reality.
Another sign of market weakness is capital outflows from Spot Bitcoin ETFs. On Wednesday, US Bitcoin ETFs recorded their 13th consecutive day of outflows—the longest streak since these funds launched. Assets under management fell from $107.8 billion on 14 May to $82.8 billion.
Alex Saunders, an analyst at Citi, noted that the once supportive factor of Spot Bitcoin ETF inflows is clearly weakening, with record consecutive outflows. Meanwhile, hopes pinned on the Clarity Act, seen as a potential turning point for the US crypto industry, are fading as political processes face delays.
So far, there is no confirmed evidence of widespread Bitcoin selling to directly invest in OpenAI, Anthropic, or SpaceX. However, it is clear that investors are reprioritizing capital amid a lack of new Bitcoin catalysts, while AI emerges as the hottest investment theme globally. Speculative funds are flowing out of crypto toward assets perceived to have higher growth potential. This may signal the market entering a full-fledged “AI Capital Cycle.”
Source information CNBC , Marketwatch
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