Crypto vs. AI: the battle for capital, infrastructure and attention

AI and tech giants, including OpenAI, SpaceX, and Anthropic, are preparing blockbuster IPOs. As capital rotates toward them, crypto faces a liquidity test - but it may also find ways to profit.

Crypto's biggest competitor may no longer be bonds, gold, or even equities. It may be artificial intelligence. 

Over the last 18 months, AI has become the dominant narrative across public and private markets, attracting capital, infrastructure and investor attention at a scale few sectors have ever achieved. As AI increasingly drives equity performance, venture funding and corporate spending, crypto finds itself competing for the same pool of speculative and growth-oriented capital.

That competition is about to enter a new phase. The upcoming IPOs of AI and tech giants, such as Anthropic or SpaceX, threaten to pull even more liquidity toward AI and away from crypto. Yet the relationship between the two sectors is more complicated than a simple winner-takes-all contest. While AI is attracting capital that once flowed into crypto, it is also creating new business opportunities for exchanges and miners.

AI IPO season threatens to absorb liquidity

OpenAI has reportedly filed confidentially for a public listing that could value the company between $852 billion and $1 trillion. SpaceX is targeting a $75 billion raise at a $1.75 trillion valuation, while Anthropic is expected to pursue its own public offering after reaching a private valuation near $965 billion. Goldman Sachs estimates that U.S. IPO proceeds could reach a record $160 billion in 2026, as reported by Reuters.

For bitcoin, this represents more than a headline. It is a liquidity test. The combined capital demand from OpenAI, SpaceX and Anthropic already exceeds the entire 2025 U.S. IPO market by several multiples. Historically, major IPO cycles absorb liquidity as institutions raise cash, rebalance portfolios and preserve risk budgets ahead of new offerings. This matters because many of the same investors allocating capital to bitcoin ETFs are also natural buyers of large-scale AI listings.

Recent market data suggests that this rotation may already be underway. AI and semiconductor stocks surged roughly 170% over the past year while bitcoin fell around 40% from its peak. Since the beginning of April, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) gained nearly 80%, while bitcoin lost approximately 7%.

ETF flows tell a similar story. According to Coinglass, U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs have recorded persistent net outflows since May 15, with cumulative withdrawals exceeding $4.8 billion. Whether these withdrawals represent temporary profit-taking or a broader rotation into AI remains an open question, but the timing is difficult to ignore.

Bitcoin miners convert to AI data centers

The competition between AI and crypto is not limited to capital flows; it also concerns physical infrastructure.

Faced with shrinking margins after the 2024 bitcoin halving, several major mining firms have begun repurposing parts of their energy and data center infrastructure to serve the rapidly growing demand for AI computing. Companies including Core Scientific, Hut 8, TeraWulf and Iren are positioning themselves as providers of high-performance computing services, leasing power capacity and data center space to AI customers.

The strategy allows miners to diversify revenue streams while monetizing assets that were originally built for bitcoin mining. Investors have rewarded the shift. According to Capriole Investments founder Charles Edwards, mining companies targeting more than 80% of future revenue from AI-related activities have seen their stocks rise more than 500% on average over the past two years. Firms targeting less than 60% AI exposure have generally delivered a fraction of those gains, with many posting negative returns over the same period.

Crypto finds a way to profit from IPOs

Yet crypto is also finding ways to monetize the IPO trend.

Crypto exchange Bybit recently launched IPO Express, allowing eligible users to subscribe to tokenized representations of SpaceX shares at IPO pricing. The move makes Bybit the second major exchange after Kraken to offer tokenized IPO access.

Unlike earlier pre-IPO products from Binance, Bitget and Gate, which largely functioned as derivatives or prediction markets, Bybit and Kraken offer exposure to actual publicly listed equities through tokenized shares powered by Kraken's xStocks platform.

The initiative reflects a broader trend toward tokenization, where blockchain networks become the settlement layer for traditional financial assets. If successful, high-profile listings such as SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic could drive new users, trading volume and liquidity into crypto-native platforms.

Overall, while competition with AI may affect short-term flows, the long-term investment case for crypto remains intact. AI attracts investors with the promise of earnings growth and productivity gains. Bitcoin attracts them with monetary scarcity in a world of rising deficits and declining trust in institutions.

If investors view trillion-dollar AI listings as superior opportunities, crypto may face a prolonged demand headwind. Yet successful AI IPOs could also boost risk appetite and attract fresh capital into speculative assets, bitcoin included.