Bitcoin slides below $68,000 as Anthropic IPO draws cash
Bitcoin fell below $68,000 on Friday, its lowest since August 19, as some analysts linked the slide to investors raising cash for Anthropic's $64.4 billion IPO — though others pointed to rates, ETF outflows and leverage.
A new low since August
Bitcoin fell below $68,000 on Friday, its lowest level since August 19, as the cryptocurrency headed for its worst week since June. For the week, bitcoin was down nearly 10%, according to CoinDesk data cited by MarketWatch, while ether fell nearly 15% to $1,926.47, a three-month low. Shares of Coinbase Global were off 5.5% for the week, and Strategy, the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, was down 13.6% over the same period, according to FactSet data.
The slide came as Treasury yields stayed high and the broader market pulled back from risk, with Nvidia's selloff and the prospect of interest rates staying higher for longer weighing on sentiment. Bitcoin has now fallen more than 20% since early October.
The Anthropic cash theory
Anthropic's initial public offering is set for next week, with trading expected to begin on November 19 on the Nasdaq under the symbol ANT, Reuters reported. The company and some of its investors aim to raise up to $64.4 billion by selling 825 million shares at $70 to $78 each, a deal that could value the company at up to $1.4 trillion. Investor demand for the shares has already been running 6 times higher than the number of shares available, according to Bloomberg data cited by MarketWatch.
Some strategists think the offering is pulling cash out of liquid markets. 'The upcoming Anthropic IPO could also be drawing capital out of risk assets as investors position ahead of the offering,' Thomas Perfumo, chief economist at Kraken, told MarketWatch. To get in on the deal, investors might need to move money out of other liquid investments, such as stocks or cryptocurrencies. There is a precedent: weeks before SpaceX's $75 billion debut on June 12, bitcoin fell from over $80,000 to under $70,000, and Jim Ferraioli, head of crypto research at Charles Schwab, said of that earlier slide, 'That could certainly be having an impact here.'
- Below $68,000Bitcoin's Friday low, its lowest since August 19
- Nearly 10%Bitcoin's drop for the week
- Nearly 15%Ether's drop for the week, to $1,926.47
- Up to $64.4 billionAnthropic's planned IPO raise
- 6 timesIPO demand compared with shares on offer
- $67,800The 200-week moving average analysts watch
Not the only driver
Bitcoin's slide cannot be pinned to a single driver, MarketWatch noted. Analysts at Bitfinex Alpha said the evidence points more to a retreat from risk than a loss of conviction in bitcoin itself, with crypto-specific leverage and ETF outflows amplifying the move. The weakness has come alongside volatility in technology shares, firmer yields and a stronger dollar, they said, and higher rates can make bitcoin less attractive at the margin because it pays no yield.
From a technical view, the analysts pointed to $67,800, the 200-week simple moving average, as a line many traders watch. A week ending under that line would point to bitcoin trading as a rate-sensitive risk asset rather than a long-horizon store of value, they said. For now, the Anthropic listing on November 19 and Nvidia's quarterly results on November 17 are the two events traders are watching next, Reuters reported, with the IPO seen as a real-time test of sentiment toward the AI trade. This article reports what analysts and companies said. It is not investment advice.
