A worsening selloff in artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor stocks could create unexpected pressure on cryptocurrency markets, potentially pushing Bitcoin toward the $65,000 level before a recovery takes hold.
According to Russell Thompson, Chief Investment Officer of Hilbert Group, funding stress across AI-related equities and the possibility of forced portfolio liquidations could trigger additional selling in digital assets as investors seek liquidity.
While Thompson remains constructive on Bitcoin’s longer-term outlook, he cautions that the near-term environment remains challenging as investors navigate technology-sector weakness, exchange-traded fund (ETF) outflows, tightening liquidity conditions, and growing demand for downside protection.
The warning portrays the increasingly interconnected relationship between crypto markets and technology investment trends, particularly as institutional investors become more active across both sectors.
Connection Between AI and Crypto Markets
Over the last two years, artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency have emerged as two of the most closely watched themes in global markets.
Investment capital poured into AI infrastructure providers, semiconductor manufacturers, cloud-computing companies, and software developers as enthusiasm surrounding generative AI accelerated.
At the same time, cryptocurrencies benefited from renewed institutional participation, exchange-traded fund adoption, and improving regulatory clarity in several jurisdictions.
While these sectors are often discussed separately, they increasingly share common investors.
Institutional funds, hedge funds, family offices, and technology-focused investment managers frequently maintain exposure to both AI-related equities and digital assets. As a result, stress in one market can increasingly influence behavior in the other.
According to Russell Thompson, this relationship may become particularly important during periods of market stress.
In a market report released by Hilbert Group, Thompson warned that heavy losses in smaller AI and semiconductor companies could trigger broader liquidation pressures that eventually spill into cryptocurrencies.
The concern is not necessarily that AI weakness directly harms Bitcoin fundamentals. Rather, the risk stems from how investors manage portfolios when losses begin accumulating elsewhere.
Margin Calls, Forced Selling Could Become the Catalyst
One of the central themes in Thompson’s analysis involves the effect of margin calls.
When investors borrow capital to increase exposure to financial assets, falling prices can force them to provide additional collateral or liquidate positions. During periods of broad market weakness, managers often sell assets that can be quickly converted into cash.
According to Thompson, Bitcoin frequently becomes one of those assets.
“If you start getting margin calls, then you start selling bits of your portfolio that are not particularly core, and that usually means Bitcoin,” he explained in comments cited by Crypto Briefing.
This mechanism has appeared repeatedly throughout modern financial history.
Assets with strong long-term fundamentals may still decline significantly during liquidity events because investors prioritize raising cash rather than preserving specific positions. To Bitcoin, that means selling pressure could emerge even if the underlying catalyst originates outside the crypto market.
Key Technical Levels Come into Focus
The cautionary outlook revolves around several important price levels.
At the time of Thompson’s assessment, Bitcoin was trading near $74,200. He identified initial support around $72,800, followed by moving-average support near $72,700. Below those levels sits a major trendline support zone around $71,900.
According to Thompson, the $71,900 level represents a critical threshold.
If buyers successfully defend the area, Bitcoin could stabilize and avoid a deeper correction. However, a decisive break below that support could open a path toward $65,000, with relatively limited technical support around the psychologically important $70,000 mark.
The projected decline would represent a significant retracement from current levels but would not necessarily imply a long-term breakdown of Bitcoin’s broader market structure.
Instead, Thompson characterizes the scenario as part of a deleveraging process that could precede eventual recovery.
