Bitcoin’s sell-off deepened over the weekend, with BTC briefly trading below $62,000 for the first time in roughly three months. Veteran Wall Street investor Jordi Visser argues the primary driver is not crypto-specific but macroeconomic: Federal Reserve policy, rising bond yields and tightening liquidity.
Speaking on Anthony Pompliano’s podcast, Visser said US two-year Treasury yields jumped about 35 basis points in one week, the largest weekly increase since 2022. He noted Bitcoin and gold have moved similarly since March, both pressured by high interest rates and tighter liquidity conditions.
Visser sees two fundamental dynamics for Bitcoin: technological innovation and global liquidity. Easing inflation, including slower increases in oil and memory-chip prices, could become a turning point, but Fed officials remain more hawkish than expected, with at least two more rate hikes potentially on the table.
Meanwhile, Strive CEO Matt Cole highlighted another liquidity drain: the upcoming Anthropic IPO. The AI company is seeking up to $64.4 billion, potentially the second-largest IPO on record behind SpaceX. Investor demand reportedly reached roughly six times available shares. Cole noted BTC fell nearly 20% in the 50 days before SpaceX’s IPO in June; this time, losses widened to around 25% from recent highs.
“From the IPO-day close to Day +100, Bitcoin gained 28%. From the low, it gained 39%,” Cole said, suggesting the selling tends to occur before the listing and a recovery can follow shortly after.
The Kobeissi Letter reported the crypto market erased $330 billion during the week, with liquidations reaching $2 billion over the weekend alone. Spot Bitcoin ETFs remained deeply in the red. Visser and Cole both suggest liquidity returning—whether through the IPO absorbing sidelined capital, slowing ETF redemptions, or friendlier macro conditions—is key to any durable rebound.
Despite short-term pressure, Visser remains optimistic about Bitcoin’s long-term future, pointing to asset tokenization and AI-driven economic activity as major catalysts. He noted traditional finance holds roughly $900 trillion in assets, and Bitcoin could become a key collateral asset in a tokenized digital financial system. He also acknowledged that potential delisting of Strategy from some stock indices could add short-term pressure, but institutional adoption of blockchain technology matters more long term.
