Bitcoin just had its worst week since summer. But the reason behind the drop may be exactly why some analysts see an opportunity.
BTC fell to about $68,000 overnight, its lowest level since August and more than 20% below early October. At its lowest point, Bitcoin touched $67,770 as liquidations topped $1.6 billion, with roughly 89% of the wiped-out positions coming from longs.
The culprit, according to several market watchers, is not a problem with Bitcoin itself. It is the Anthropic IPO.
Why The Anthropic IPO Is Weighing On Bitcoin
Anthropic, the AI company behind the Claude chatbot, is preparing one of the largest stock listings in history. It set a price range of $70 to $78 per share, selling 825 million shares to raise about $64.4 billion. Pricing is expected on Nov. 18, with trading set to begin on Nov. 19 on Nasdaq.
Demand has been enormous. The offering’s order books were about six times oversubscribed, according to CoinDesk.
That demand has to be funded somehow. Seamus Rocca, CEO of Xapo Bank, believes investors are selling liquid assets like Bitcoin to raise cash for their IPO allocations, the same dynamic seen ahead of SpaceX’s listing earlier this year.
In other words, this is a temporary rotation of capital, not a vote against Bitcoin.
The SpaceX Playbook Points Higher
Here is where it gets interesting. The last time a mega-IPO pulled money out of crypto, it marked a turning point.
Matt Cole of Strive noted that Bitcoin fell 19% in the 50 days before the SpaceX IPO. In the same window ahead of the Anthropic listing, it has fallen 18%, an almost identical pattern.
If history repeats, Cole suggests Bitcoin could climb back toward $90,000 by late February. That would be a gain of more than 30% from current levels.
The logic is simple. Once the IPO is priced and allocations are filled, the forced selling stops. Capital that was parked on the sidelines can flow back into risk assets, including crypto.
Fear Is Running High, And That’s Often Bullish
Sentiment is another reason some see the dip as a chance to buy. Chris Sullivan of Hyperium Decimus pointed to extreme fear across crypto markets, with short open interest now above its August peak.
That combination often fuels sharp rebounds. When too many traders bet on further downside, even a small move higher can force them to cover their shorts, pushing prices up fast.
The selling also does not appear to be about crypto fundamentals. Mark Connors of Risk Dimensions described it as a broad deleveraging of the AI trade, with metals falling alongside Bitcoin as investors pulled back from risk across the board.
Meanwhile, the Bitcoin network keeps growing. Lightning Labs just launched payments for AI agents, opening a new use case for BTC in the very economy currently drawing investor attention.
Bitcoin Price Levels To Watch
The first target for bulls is reclaiming $70,000. Getting back above that psychological level would signal that buyers are regaining control.
Above that, $76,000 is the next key zone, the level Bitcoin held during last week’s sell-off before breaking lower. A move through it would put the $80,000 range back in play.
On the downside, $67,770 is the line to watch. Holding above this week’s low would help confirm a bottom is forming ahead of the Nov. 19 listing.
There are still risks. MSCI’s plan to drop Strategy from its global indexes could force some selling of the company’s shares, and inflation remains stubborn. But for long-term buyers, a liquidity-driven dip ahead of a known catalyst is the kind of setup many wait for. For more updates, follow the latest Bitcoin news.
What do you think?
Is Bitcoin’s dip to $68,000 a buying opportunity before the Anthropic IPO, or will the selling continue until the listing is done?
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