Anthropic IPO Could Be Bitcoin's Next Catalyst: Arthur Hayes Turns 'Mini-Bulled Up' Ahead Of Nasdaq Listing
Arthur Hayes, CEO of Flop Labs, said he has "mini-bulled up" on crypto ahead of Anthropic's (ANT) Nasdaq listing next week, with analysts at Bitfinex Alpha saying that this could be the next big thing for Bitcoin (BTC).Hayes said on X late on Wednesday that he thinks Anthropic’s initial public offering (IPO) will "rip." He said he was adding crypto risk ahead of the listing date, which, according to him, is next week. He keeps his positions small to medium-sized so he can get out quickly if he needs to. Hayes said he felt "mini-bulled up."Hayes predicted, earlier this month, that Anthropic IPO investors by June 2027, saying that the stock would be "almost mathematically impossible" to gain before then.Bitcoin Doesn't Rally With StocksHayes' wager was coming at a time when Bitcoin has struggled to keep pace with U.S. stocks. Since Oct. 6, when the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index hit its high point, Bitcoin has absorbed 91% of the Nasdaq 100's loss days, Bitfinex analysts said in their weekly Bitfinex Alpha report. Over that period, it captured just 58% of the index's gains on days when it rose.The analysts attributed the pattern to weak demand. Buying from exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and corporate treasuries has slowed down, so there isn't a steady buyer to move gains from stocks into crypto, according to analysts. has been trading around $73,470, down over 0.3% in the last 24 hours. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around BTC remained in an ‘extremely bearish’ zone, accompanied by ‘normal’ chatter levels over the past day. According to platform data, watchers around the apex cryptocurrency also dipped over 21% over the past week.3 Ways The IPO Blows Up BitcoinBitfinex Alpha said that listing Anthropic could have three different impacts on Bitcoin. First, analysts said Anthropic isn't worth nearly the $2 trillion figure that was discussed in September. They believe investors will view its reception as a test of AI's value and that the result will spill over to Bitcoin, similar to Hayes' call.The second is liquidity. According to a Bitfinex analyst, about a fifth of the offering is set aside for retail investors. The analyst said that money comes from the same pool of buyers that back crypto.The third path is direct access to crypto markets. Bitfinex said traders have deposited more than $260 million in open interest in Anthropic contracts on crypto derivatives platforms before Anthropic’s pre-IPO. Traders said the contracts were priced at around 23% above the top of the IPO range, Bitfinex said.This comes as trading volume in the crypto market has dropped over 25% in the past day to $2.53 trillion.