Tom Lee outlines possible causes of crypto selloff, keeps long-term view

What happened

Tom Lee, chairman of BitMine Immersion Technologies, offered possible explanations for the recent crypto market decline in a post on X, according to U.Today and Crypto.news. U.Today reported that Lee focused on three main factors: weakness in AI and semiconductor stocks, especially Nvidia, that may have triggered margin calls among retail investors in Asia; selling of equities and crypto to raise cash ahead of Anthropic's planned IPO; and the aftermath of the $6.3 billion Binance hack in late October, which may have led some customers to convert recovered balances into cash or stablecoins. Crypto.news said Lee listed five possible causes, also citing concerns that AI could compromise cybersecurity systems and US scrutiny of semiconductor exports to Asia, including China. The reports presented these as possible explanations, not confirmed causes, and did not measure how much selling each factor produced.

The market moves were severe. U.Today reported that Bitcoin fell below $70,000 on Friday, Nov. 13, dropped below $66,000 on Saturday and traded around $62,112 on Sunday, its lowest since July. Ethereum fell to about $1,711, also its lowest since early July, while XRP and Solana posted large losses. CoinGlass data cited by U.Today showed about $2 billion in leveraged crypto positions liquidated in 24 hours, mostly among bullish traders.

Crypto.news separately reported Ethereum near $1,800 and Bitcoin around $64,000 on Nov. 15, with ETH down about 6% over 24 hours. It also reported about $398.9 million in net outflows from US spot Ethereum ETFs during the Nov. 9-13 trading week, based on Farside Investors data.

Why it matters

Lee's comments matter because they tie the crypto selloff to pressures outside digital assets, including technology stocks, a major IPO and exchange recovery flows. That framing suggests crypto was caught up in broader risk reduction rather than a single crypto-specific event, though the reports do not establish that causal link. The decline also hit leveraged traders and ETF investors, showing how quickly sentiment shifted across major tokens. BitMine has continued to accumulate Ethereum, and Lee maintained that the industry's longer-term trajectory remains intact.

What the data shows

Beyond ETF flows, Onchain Lens reported that an Ethereum Foundation-linked wallet sold 7,500 ETH for about 14.52 million USDS over four days, including a final 2,500 ETH swap for 4.597 million USDS through CoW Swap. Crypto.news reported that BitMine held 6,070,092 ETH in its Nov. 9 disclosure, or about 4.97% of Ethereum's circulating supply, with 5,227,037 ETH staked. The company bought another 9,587 ETH in the week before Nov. 9. Its annual SEC filing recorded about $6.23 billion in unrealized digital asset losses for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31. Using its August acquisition-cost average against November prices near $1,800 suggests a paper shortfall approaching $10 billion, though later purchases affect the precise figure.

Background

Anthropic's planned November listing has drawn attention because of its expected size. Crypto.news reported that the company filed with the SEC on Nov. 12 in preparation for the offering, but the filing does not establish how much crypto investors may have sold to fund subscriptions. Lee also suggested that a large retail allocation through Robinhood could encourage customers to convert crypto into cash before buying shares. The Binance breach occurred on Oct. 29 and involved about $6.3 billion in stolen cryptocurrency. The exchange restored withdrawals in phases and said by Nov. 3 that it had replenished about 98% of affected assets using company resources. Chainalysis traced the attack to activity associated with North Korea's TraderTraitor group. US chip-export investigations have involved companies connected to Nvidia, including Megaspeed and Supermicro, while separate inquiries concern Nvidia's business practices.

What to watch

Investors will get more information from Anthropic's offering process, Binance's handling of reimbursed customer assets and the pace of ETF flows. The reports do not indicate how much restored Binance crypto was sold, and the chip-export investigations do not quantify any crypto impact. BitMine's future disclosures will show whether its Ethereum accumulation continues amid the decline.

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