Tom Lee Crypto Selloff Reasons, From Nvidia To Anthropic

Fundstrat‘s Tom Lee says crypto’s slide is coming from outside crypto, pointing to the AI chip selloff, Anthropic‘s giant IPO and cash leaving a hacked exchange, not from anything wrong with the coins themselves.

Key Takeaways

Lee says a selloff in AI and chip stocks, including Nvidia, triggered margin calls, especially among retail traders in Asia
He says investors are selling other assets to raise cash for Anthropic’s IPO, with Robinhood customers set to get a big allocation
He says funds from the recent $6.3B exchange hack were released to account holders, who are turning them into cash and stablecoins
Lee still calls crypto the future of finance and expects a “supercycle” bigger than past cycles

Lee laid out his reasons in a Nov. 14 post on X, saying crypto has been under “intense selling pressure” for weeks even as banks keep announcing plans to use crypto and blockchains. Bitcoin closed at $63,463 on Binance on Nov. 14, down 24% from its Sept. 30 close.

Also Read: Bitcoin Crashed Before SpaceX’s IPO Then Soared, Anthropic’s Is Next

The Main Reasons Lee Sees

First, Lee points to the selloff in AI and semiconductor stocks, naming Nvidia. Traders who borrowed to buy those stocks faced margin calls, and he says the pressure was heaviest among retail investors in Asia. When traders need cash fast, crypto is often one of the first things they sell.

Second, he calls Anthropic’s IPO a “supply shock” for markets. Investors who want shares are selling other holdings ahead of time to pay for them. Lee says the shares, which will trade as ANT, are set to have a heavy retail allocation at Robinhood, so some of those buyers may be selling crypto to fund their orders.

Third, he links the selling to the recent $6.3 billion exchange hack. Funds tied to the hack were recently released back to account holders, and Lee says many are converting those holdings into cash or stablecoins instead of keeping them in coins.

Pressure Lee Names	Type
AI and chip stock selloff causing margin calls in Asia	Main
Selling to fund Anthropic IPO orders	Main
Robinhood customers selling crypto for ANT shares	Main
Hacked exchange funds turned into cash and stablecoins	Main
Anthropic roadshow talk of AI “breaking” cyber defense	Secondary
US scrutiny of chip sales to Asia and China	Secondary

The Fears Behind The Headlines

Lee also lists two secondary forces. He says talk during Anthropic’s IPO roadshow about AI “breaking” everything, including cyber defense, is feeding wider fears about anything technology or digital.

He adds that US scrutiny of chip sales to Asia and China has raised worries about crackdowns, and that crypto has been selling off on fears of more bad headlines out of Asia.

Why Lee Is Still Bullish

Lee’s view is that these are short-term headwinds. He says crypto is becoming the settlement layer for transactions, that digital assets will transform capital markets and that this adds up to a supercycle bigger than past cycles. He singled out Ether, calling ETH “the future of finance.”

The Bottom Line

If Lee is right, most of the selling is forced or temporary, driven by margin calls, IPO funding and hack payouts that should fade once Anthropic lists and those funds settle. The risk is that the AI selloff and the Asia worries keep going, in which case crypto may not get the quick relief he expects. Lee is a longtime crypto bull, and his reasons are his reading of the market, not confirmed data on who is selling.