BitMine Chairman Tom Lee is offering a multi-part explanation for the steep decline in digital assets, arguing that stress in AI and semiconductor equities, cash-raising ahead of Anthropic's planned stock listing, and the aftermath of the Binance security breach are all feeding selling pressure - while insisting the long-term crypto supercycle remains intact.

In a post on X on November 14, Lee said crypto fundamentals have been "mostly positive (many banks announcing use of crypto and blockchains)" but that prices have not followed. He framed his list as possible drivers rather than confirmed causes of the downturn.

Prices remained under heavy pressure on November 15. Bitcoin traded near $63,916, down 4.88% over 24 hours and 15.54% over seven days, with a session low of $62,081, according to CoinGecko data. Ether changed hands at about $1,780, off 6.31% in a day and 20.14% on the week. XRP slipped 3.63% and Solana dropped 7.18%.

Roughly $2 billion in leveraged crypto positions were liquidated over the preceding 24 hours, most of them bullish bets.

Lee's first theory ties the crypto slump to weakness in artificial intelligence and semiconductor shares, particularly Nvidia. He suggested that losses in those stocks may have triggered margin calls, especially among retail investors in Asia, forcing holders of leveraged positions to sell other assets - including crypto - to meet collateral obligations.

That is a possible cross-market chain reaction rather than proof that equity stress caused the decline.

His second explanation centers on Anthropic's planned listing. The AI developer filed with the SEC on November 10 to list Class A shares on Nasdaq under the ticker ANT. Lee suggested that investors preparing to subscribe may have sold existing holdings, including crypto, to raise cash, and that a large retail allocation through Robinhood could encourage customers to convert crypto into dollars before buying shares.

The filing confirms a proposed listing but does not show that crypto holders are selling to participate.

The third factor involves Binance. The exchange said roughly $6.34 billion in digital assets were affected in the October 29 security incident, and that it would absorb the financial impact, having replenished 98% of affected token assets by October 31. Lee suggested some account holders might cash out or convert recovered balances into stablecoins, adding to selling pressure.

No public data establishes that reimbursed customers sold, and the return of withdrawal access and any subsequent conversion are separate events.

Lee also cited two technology-related concerns: Anthropic's warnings that artificial intelligence could compromise existing cybersecurity systems, and U.S. scrutiny of advanced semiconductor exports to Asia, particularly China.

The Justice Department has investigated companies connected to Nvidia, including Megaspeed and Supermicro, over possible export-control violations, while separate inquiries concern Nvidia's business practices. Neither those proceedings nor Lee's comments quantify any resulting crypto sales.

Law enforcement activity has added another layer to the Binance episode. The FBI said on November 12 that the U.S. had seized more than $1.2 billion in cryptocurrency stolen from the exchange, and the Associated Press reported that government and private-sector efforts had frozen more than $2.7 billion of the stolen funds combined. A freeze or recovery does not indicate that funds were sold into the market.

Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis separately traced the attack to activity associated with North Korea's TraderTraitor group.

Fund flows point to broad caution. U.S. spot Ether ETFs recorded about $398.9 million in net withdrawals in the November 9-13 trading week, according to Farside Investors, with a modest $2.3 million inflow on Friday after four straight sessions of net redemptions.

Binance Research reported that total crypto market capitalization fell 9.1% to $2.70 trillion in October, alongside about $516 million in net outflows from spot Bitcoin ETFs and roughly $1.6 billion from Ether ETFs that month.

K33 Research said in a November 10 update that Bitcoin had posted five consecutive weekly declines, with U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs seeing outflows of 31,652 BTC over the previous seven trading days. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index stood at 10, or Extreme Fear, on November 15.

Despite the rout, BitMine has kept accumulating Ether. A company disclosure listed 6,070,092 ETH, about 4.97% of circulating supply, of which 5,227,037 ETH was staked. The company bought another 9,587 ETH in the week before November 9.

Its annual SEC filing recorded about $6.23 billion in unrealized digital asset losses for the fiscal year ended August 31; using its August acquisition-cost average against November prices near $1,800 implies a paper shortfall approaching $10 billion, though later purchases affect the precise figure.

Lee maintained that crypto could experience a "supercycle" larger than previous ones and that current headwinds would pass, reiterating his view that Ethereum will serve as infrastructure for future financial transactions.

The market impact extends beyond spot prices. Heavy ETF redemptions and forced deleveraging can amplify moves in both directions, and the liquidation cascade shows how quickly leveraged positioning can turn a decline into a rout. Investors will be watching whether equity-market stress is actually driving crypto sales, updated…