AI Siphons Attention from Bitcoin, Gold Amid 53% Price Drop

BlackRock's head of digital assets, Robbie Mitchnick, explained that AI played a significant role in Bitcoin's 53% decline from its October 2025 record near $126,000 to a June 2026 low around $59,000. This drop happened as investors shifted their focus towards artificial-intelligence companies and the infrastructure built around them.

According to Mitchnick, AI became the market's dominant growth theme, attracting new risk exposure. As a result, Bitcoin found itself competing for attention alongside other assets outside the AI-focused rally, including gold and precious metals.

The decline in Bitcoin's price was not solely due to investors pulling out of the asset, but rather due to the lack of fresh allocation towards it. Mitchnick emphasized that interest-rate expectations, leverage, exchange-traded product flows, and broader risk sentiment all contributed to this period's market pressures.