According to Tom Lee, head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors, the direction of virtual currency prices could dictate the direction of the U.S. stock market. Bitcoin on Thursday fell to its lowest level since April 21, amid a broader market pullback that saw expectations for the Federal Reserve’s next interest rate cut recede and investors take profits from risk-on assets. Major U.S. indexes reversed earlier gains to close lower on Thursday as big tech stocks lost momentum despite Nvidia’s strong third-quarter results. Cryptocurrency and AI trading are closely related, as investors who hold large amounts of AI-related stocks also tend to hold Bitcoin. Lee expects further declines in crypto assets, which could signal further pain for stocks, but remains optimistic about a long-term recovery. “The crypto market has been limping since October 10th because that day was a negative shock,” Lee said on CNBC’s “Power Lunch” on Thursday. “I think this decline that’s been happening in crypto over the last few weeks is a reflection of market maker dysfunction. And in 2022, it took eight weeks for it to really unwind. We’re only six weeks in…I think crypto, Bitcoin, Ethereum, in some ways, are leading indicators for equities, because of that easing and the kind of drag that we’re seeing right now, the liquidity decline.” Mr. Lee recalled the sudden collapse in virtual currency prices that occurred on October 10th. This was caused by escalating trade sentiment between the US and China, and structural factors such as high leverage in crypto derivatives also played a role. More than 1.6 million traders witnessed the elimination of a combined $19.37 billion in leveraged positions in the first 24 hours of the day, making it the largest liquidation event in history tracked by data analytics firm Coinglass, CNBC previously reported. Bitcoin prices have fallen since reaching over $126,000 in early October, and the decline in the cryptocurrency market has spread to other regions. For example, Ether is currently trading below $2,900. However, Lee remains bullish that the bottom in crypto prices is near. “If you look at the corrections we’ve seen over the past few years, including Bitcoin…each one has recovered, and the rises from the lows have been faster than the declines to the bottoms,” Lee told CNBC. “The recovery from there to all-time highs will be faster than the decline. That’s what happened with every crypto decline, because what you have is all that energy that’s rolled up. People are sitting and waiting, there’s panic selling and forced selling, but buyers are patient and waiting. That’s what happens.”
