While majority of crypto analysts blamed Strategy’s modest BTC sales and macroeconomic jitters for Bitcoin’s recent price slump, a growing chorus in trading circles points to big money shifting from liquid crypto positions into the anticipated mega-IPOs of SpaceX, Anthropic and, potentially, OpenAI.
This “mega rotation” narrative has gained traction among seasoned investors who see classic capital reallocation at work. The shift arrives as high-profile private companies backed by deep-pocketed venture funds and institutions are preparing to go public at eye-watering valuations, creating what some call a “liquidity vacuum.”
With SpaceX’s IPO slated for pricing as early as this week at a potential $1.75 trillion to $2 trillion valuation, and Anthropic’s confidential filing signaling a near-$1 trillion debut, the deals are sucking in fresh allocations that might otherwise stay parked in Bitcoin.
The Mechanics of the Sell-Off
Market participants have watched Bitcoin’s price action closely since late May, when ETF outflows accelerated and daily trading volumes thinned. Traditional explanations—profit-taking after a strong run, rising oil prices, or uncertainty around future Federal Reserve leadership—only tell part of the story. Instead, the timing lines up with heightened excitement around these transformative companies.
Investors holding large and easily tradable Bitcoin stakes appear to be trimming positions to free up cash for IPO participation or related pre-IPO secondary deals.
This isn’t abstract theory. Liquid assets like Bitcoin serve as the first port of call when sophisticated capital needs to move quickly. Unlike locked-up private shares, crypto trades 24/7 with tight spreads, making it an efficient funding source. The result? Short-term selling pressure that has little to do with Bitcoin’s fundamentals and everything to do with where the next narrative-driven returns are expected.
Analyst Spots the Real Driver
Veteran investor Jeff Park, a partner at ParaFi Capital and advisor to Bitwise, laid out the case plainly in a June 4 post on X. “I don’t think Bitcoin is selling off because of MSTR,” he wrote. “I think it’s being tapped to fund the market’s upcoming hot ball of money trades: SpaceX, Anthropic, whatever else everyone suddenly has to own.”
Park’s observation resonated widely, drawing hundreds of replies from traders and fund managers who echoed the sentiment. He wasn’t dismissing other factors but highlighted how correlation between assets can shift dramatically during liquidity events.
When hot IPOs dominate the conversation, capital flows toward them, leaving other risk assets—including Bitcoin—to fend for themselves until the dust settles. Park’s background in radical portfolio theory and his track record at Morgan Stanley lend weight to the view that this is less about Bitcoin’s weakness and more about opportunity cost in a market chasing the next moonshot.
The post came as Bitcoin hovered near $64,000 earlier in the month, a level that felt fragile given the surrounding hype. Park’s framing has since become a touchstone for crypto watchers trying to separate noise from signal amid the IPO calendar.
SpaceX IPO: Scale and Surging Market Chatter
Few deals in market history have generated the scale and buzz now surrounding SpaceX’s impending debut. The company is targeting a fixed price of $135 per share for roughly 555.6 million shares, aiming to raise approximately $75 billion at a $1.77 trillion valuation.
This would make it the largest IPO ever—eclipsing Saudi Aramco’s 2019 record—while instantly positioning SpaceX among the biggest public companies by market cap, ahead of Tesla and in the neighborhood of tech heavyweights.
SpaceX shares are expected to begin trading as early as June 12 under the ticker SPCX on Nasdaq, with pricing set for the evening of June 11. The roadshow, which kicked off earlier this month, has reportedly drawn overwhelming demand, with order books already oversubscribed multiple times over.
Chatter on trading floors and social platforms is electric: investors from venture funds to retail allocators are scrambling for pieces of what many call the “deal of the decade.” Elon Musk’s dual role in space infrastructure and AI has only amplified the hype, with Starlink revenue growth and ambitious visions for orbital data centers and Mars missions fueling optimism.
Skeptics abound, of course. Some analysts argue the valuation looks rich relative to current revenue multiples, warning of post-IPO volatility or even a “bubble unto its own” if supply remains tight.
Yet the mania is hard to ignore—conversations about SpaceX have dominated finance Twitter (X) and institutional calls, with projections of massive first-day pops or long-term compounding that echo early Tesla believers.
This frenzy is precisely what Park and others see as the magnet pulling dollars out of Bitcoin and similar assets in the short run. The sheer size means even partial reallocations from large portfolios can move markets elsewhere.
SpaceX’s Quiet Bitcoin Stash Comes Into Focus
While the short-term rotation story dominates headlines, a longer-term tailwind for Bitcoin is quietly taking shape through corporate balance sheets. On May 26, Grayscale Investments published its latest “The Stack” research note, spotlighting SpaceX’s holdings.
According to the company’s S-1 filing, SpaceX owns 18,712 Bitcoin, valued at roughly $1.18 billion at the time of the report. Once public—potentially this week at a multi-trillion-dollar market cap—SpaceX would instantly become the largest publicly traded company holding Bitcoin, dwarfing many others on the list.
Grayscale’s analysis, authored by head of research Zach Pandl, frames this in a broader context. Corporate Bitcoin strategies fall into two buckets. On one side are “Digital Asset Treasuries” like Strategy (MicroStrategy), where Bitcoin forms the core of the investment thesis and makes up the bulk of enterprise value. On the other are diversified operating businesses—think Tesla or Block in earlier cycles—where Bitcoin sits as a modest treasury asset, often less than 1% of total market capitalization.
SpaceX fits the latter category. Its 18,712 BTC represent just 0.1% of the expected post-IPO valuation, yet the sheer size of the company will shine a spotlight on Bitcoin as a legitimate corporate reserve asset.
Grayscale expects more diversified businesses to follow suit, adopting Bitcoin not as a speculative play but as a hedge against fiat currency erosion. Even if the number of pure-play Bitcoin treasuries declines over time, the overall demand from mainstream companies could provide steady, structural buying pressure.
Short-Term Pain, Structural Gain
The juxtaposition is striking. In the near term, the very companies embracing Bitcoin—SpaceX foremost among them—are indirectly contributing to selling in the crypto market as investors reposition. Yet once the IPO window closes and shares begin trading freely, SpaceX’s public status could normalize the idea of corporate Bitcoin ownership on a grander scale.
Grayscale’s report strikes an optimistic note here, suggesting the net effect over quarters and years will be positive for Bitcoin’s price discovery. This dynamic plays into a familiar market cycle. Capital chases momentum until it doesn’t.
When AI and space narratives cool or become fully priced, the same investors who sold Bitcoin to buy IPO allocations may rotate back, seeking scarcity and asymmetric upside. Park alluded to this in his X thread: the very breakdown in correlations that hurts Bitcoin today could fuel its rebound tomorrow.
Watching the Calendar and the Charts
With SpaceX’s debut potentially days away and Anthropic’s filing fresh, the coming weeks will test whether the rotation thesis holds water.
Bitcoin bulls argue the asset’s fundamentals—scarcity, adoption metrics, and growing institutional infrastructure—remain intact. While bears counters that sustained outflows and narrative drift could push prices lower before any rebound.
For now, the market is pricing in the near-term liquidity squeeze. Spot Bitcoin ETF flows continue to be watched like a hawk, and on-chain data shows some long-term holders trimming but not capitulating.
The Grayscale note and Park’s commentary together paint a nuanced picture: Bitcoin isn’t broken; it’s simply caught in the crosscurrents of one of the biggest capital-formation events in tech history.
Investors on both sides of the trade will be glued to the tape this week. If SpaceX prices strongly and trading begins without major hiccups, it could mark the peak of the rotation frenzy—and the beginning of Bitcoin’s next chapter as a more mature, corporate-endorsed asset class. Until then, the $62,000-$63,000 zone remains a psychological battleground where old narratives meet new money flows.
Also read: Bitcoin Price Tumbles 50% from All-Time High – Is This the Bottom or Further Pain Ahead?
