Xapo Bank Head Links Bitcoin Drop to Anthropic IPO Preparation

Xapo Bank CEO Seamus Rocca suggested that the decline in Bitcoin's price is linked to capital redistribution ahead of the IPO of artificial intelligence developer Anthropic. According to him, investors are selling digital gold and other liquid assets to raise funds for participating in the company's stock offering.

On November 13, the price of the first cryptocurrency dropped to approximately $68,000 — the lowest since August. Since the beginning of October, Bitcoin has lost over 20%. At the time of writing, the asset was trading around $67,000.

According to Bloomberg, demand for Anthropic shares has already exceeded the available supply by about six times.

The company plans to issue 825 million shares at a price between $70 and $78 per share. The public offering could reach $64.4 billion. Anthropic also intends to raise another $26 billion through a private sale of shares to investors, including Google and Nvidia.

With full dilution, the company's valuation could reach up to $1.4 trillion. Trading on Nasdaq under the ticker ANT is expected to begin on November 19.

Rocca compared the situation to the SpaceX IPO in June 2026. In his assessment, preparation for that offering was also accompanied by capital redistribution and a temporary reduction in liquidity in the cryptocurrency market.

Analogy with SpaceX IPO

Strive CEO Matt Cole noted the similarity in Bitcoin's dynamics before the two offerings. According to his calculations, 50 days before SpaceX went public, the cryptocurrency fell by 19%. Over a similar period before Anthropic's IPO, the decline was about 18%.

After SpaceX's offering, Bitcoin continued to fall and reached a local low 18 days later. Then recovery began: 100 days after the IPO, the cryptocurrency's price was 28% higher than the closing level on the day of the offering.

Cole believes a similar scenario could repeat after Anthropic goes public. In this case, he estimates that the main part of the decline may already be behind, and Bitcoin's price could approach $90,000 by the end of February 2027.

However, the head of Strive emphasized that markets are not obliged to repeat historical patterns. He also noted that he maintains a positive outlook on the technical and fundamental factors for Bitcoin ahead of 2027.

Other Factors Pressuring Bitcoin

Risk Dimensions Chief Investment Strategist Mark Connors found no direct link between Jensen Huang's departure as CEO of Nvidia and Bitcoin's decline. In his opinion, the drop in cryptocurrency and gold reflects a broader reduction in risk positions in financial markets. He associated this process with a massive decrease in leverage in deals related to artificial intelligence.

Hyperium Decimus Co-Portfolio Manager Chris Sullivan also doubted a direct connection between events surrounding Nvidia and the dynamics of the first cryptocurrency. Among more significant factors, he highlighted the growth in open interest in short positions in Bitcoin, which exceeded the August peak, and a substantial outflow of funds from BlackRock's exchange-traded fund.

On November 13, the net outflow from U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs amounted to $185.4 million. The iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) accounted for $143.5 million.

Another source of pressure, according to Schwab Center for Financial Research's Head of Cryptocurrency Market Research Jim Ferraioli, is MSCI's decision to exclude Strategy from its stock indices. This could force index funds to sell shares of the company, which is the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin.

It was previously reported that by November 11, outflows from U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs continued for five consecutive trading sessions. During this period, investors withdrew about $1.44 billion from the funds.