Bitcoin Price Falls Below $60,000 as Investor Interest Shifts to AI

Milan, June 6 (askanews) – After being one of the absolute protagonists of the markets in recent years, Bitcoin is going through a phase of strong disaffection on the part of investors, who are increasingly attracted by the boom in artificial intelligence and the arrival of mega-IPOs such as the one expected from SpaceX. This emerges from a Reuters analysis, according to which the main cryptocurrency is heading for its worst performance for this period of the year in at least a decade. Since the beginning of 2026, Bitcoin has lost about a third of its value and in the last week alone it has fallen by 15%, the sharpest decline since the collapse of FTX in 2022. Prices are around $60,000, half the highs above $125,000 reached at the end of last year. Weighing on sentiment was also the decision by Strategy, the company led by Michael Saylor and the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, to sell part of its reserves for the first time since 2022, a move seen as mostly symbolic for a market accustomed to the “never sell” strategy. According to Reuters, Bitcoin is also paying for its own success. The massive influx of institutional investors, banks and listed products has reduced the volatility and the decorrelation from traditional markets that had fueled its appeal as an alternative asset. In recent years, the correlation with Wall Street has increased significantly, while the cryptocurrency has lost part of its uniqueness as a diversification tool. Even within the crypto universe, competition has grown. Bitcoin's market share has fallen to 56% from 63% a year ago, while stablecoins like Tether and USDC continue to gain ground and in some cases record trading volumes higher than those of major traditional cryptocurrencies. But the main competitor today seems to be artificial intelligence. Since the explosion of the ChatGPT phenomenon, investor flows have gradually shifted towards semiconductors, data center infrastructure and companies linked to the AI ecosystem. In the last year, the US semiconductor stock index has risen 170%, while Bitcoin has lost about 40%. The AI race is set to intensify with the arrival on the market of new billion-dollar listings. SpaceX aims to raise up to $75 billion at a valuation of up to $2 trillion, while Anthropic is also preparing for its stock market debut, further fueling competition for investor capital. The result is a growing flight from Bitcoin-linked financial products. According to data cited by Reuters, in 2026, cryptocurrency ETFs recorded net outflows of over $3 billion, while major semiconductor ETFs attracted about $21 billion since the beginning of the year. For many observers, this is not necessarily the end of the Bitcoin story, but a phase in which the market favors growth, earnings and industrial prospects offered by artificial intelligence over the bet on cryptocurrencies. A rotation that, at least for now, is reshaping the hierarchy of global financial markets.