Anthropic's Junk Rating Sparks a Bigger Bitcoin Debate
Anthropic received a BB+ junk rating from Kroll Bond Rating Agency in June, made public in October. It covered $4.4 billion in junior debt in its $35 billion AI chip deal, yielding 8.5% versus 5.75% for senior debt backed by Broadcom, according to BeInCrypto. The rating revived Bitcoin debate as 10-year Treasury yields topped 5.3% in early October, a 24-year high. Jeff Park questioned the 60/40 portfolio; Blockstream CEO Adam Back called Bitcoin the “hurdle rate.” Bitcoin’s volatility contrasts with bonds’ lower default risk; Willy Woo said a Bitcoin-based economy could grow more slowly as debt repayment gets harder, while bond ETFs drew record inflows.