Bitcoin slipped below $68,000 on Saturday, extending its slide to more than 20% since early October as investors trimmed exposure to riskier assets amid technology-sector volatility and concerns that Anthropic's upcoming blockbuster initial public offering could pull capital away from cryptocurrency markets.
The largest digital currency by market value was changing hands at $67,034.6, down 1.61% for the day, as of 00:54 ET (04:54 GMT). It had earlier traded below $67,000, marking its lowest level since August, as selling pressure intensified across digital assets and technology stocks.
Anthropic's planned public offering has emerged as a potential source of liquidity pressure, with the artificial intelligence company seeking to raise as much as $64.4 billion. Demand for the offering reportedly exceeds available shares sixfold, prompting speculation that investors are liquidating Bitcoin and other readily tradable assets to finance allocations.
Xapo Bank CEO Seamus Rocca attributed part of the cryptocurrency's decline to capital shifting toward Anthropic, drawing comparisons with the liquidity pressures surrounding SpaceX's June IPO.
Technology-sector volatility has compounded the weakness following Nvidia's leadership upheaval, although analysts cautioned against attributing Bitcoin's losses directly to developments at the chipmaker.
Concerns about Strategy's potential removal from MSCI indexes have added pressure, raising the prospect of forced selling by funds tracking those benchmarks.
Meanwhile, elevated short positioning and withdrawals from BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust indicate continued caution among cryptocurrency investors.
The downturn has also affected precious metals, suggesting broader portfolio deleveraging rather than exclusively cryptocurrency-specific selling.
Historical comparisons offer a possible recovery scenario. Strive CEO Matt Cole noted that Bitcoin declined 19% before SpaceX's IPO, compared with an approximately 18% fall ahead of Anthropic's planned listing.
Bitcoin subsequently recovered after the SpaceX offering, although a similar rebound remains uncertain.
Separately, Grayscale research found that Bitcoin explained roughly half of crypto-sector return variations over three years, suggesting growing opportunities for diversification across digital assets.
The firm also reported that six different cryptocurrencies led quarterly performance among the ten largest non-stablecoin assets over two years, with Bitcoin leading none.
In another development, a wallet dormant since 2011 transferred 75 Bitcoin worth approximately $5 million after receiving legal notice connected to a lawsuit seeking ownership of long-inactive cryptocurrency holdings.
The transaction demonstrates continued control over the wallet but does not establish whether the lawsuit prompted the transfer.
Crypto prices today: altcoins post losses on Saturday
Most cryptocurrencies were trading at a loss on Saturday, based on the latest market snapshot.
Ether, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency, fell 0.35% to $1,904.97.
XRP, the third-largest, dropped 1.57% to $0.9964.
Solana crashed 3.27% to $75.96, while BNB declined 2.02% to $621.31.
Cardano lost 3.33% to trade at $0.1653, while Dogecoin was down 1.91%.
Among meme coins, TRUMP was trading flat for the day, while Shiba Inu fell 1.17%.