Why did Bitcoin decouple from US stocks during the crash? Miners pivot to AI, US crypto regulation stalls…

Bitcoin fell below the $75,000 mark on Thursday after facing resistance at $78,000, marking a formal decoupling from its strong correlation with traditional stock markets. Meanwhile, the stagnation of US crypto legislation and massive BTC sell-offs by miners pivoting to AI infrastructure have intensified selling pressure. (Context: Bitcoin plunged to a 14-day low of $74,243, with $438 million in liquidations across the crypto market, leaving 100,000 traders wiped out and heavy losses for long positions.) (Background: Building a $3 trillion super-beast? Rumors suggest Elon Musk intends to merge Tesla and SpaceX; if successful, the new entity would hold 30,000 BTC.) Bitcoin continued to weaken on Thursday after being blocked at $78,000, and fell below the $75,000 level on Wednesday. The most notable aspect of this decline is the fundamental shift in the relationship between Bitcoin and traditional markets. BTC, which had closely tracked US stock trends for the past two months, chose to decouple and fall on the same day the Nasdaq 100 index hit an all-time high. Dual Pressure: Miner Sell-offs and AI Transformation One of the core reasons for the weakness in BTC prices stems from large-scale sell-offs by miners and industry transformation. Several publicly traded Bitcoin mining companies have recently sold off BTC reserves to shift capital toward AI infrastructure construction. TeraWulf (WULF) is one of the most representative cases. The mining firm announced it would add 1 GW of high-performance computing (HPC) capacity in Kentucky, effectively transforming traditional mining sites into AI data centers. This means that the BTC accumulated by miners may be liquidated at an accelerated pace to cover capital expenditures for AI hardware. This trend began to emerge in 2025. A VanEck report indicated that if Bitcoin miners partially pivot to AI and HPC sectors by 2027, they could generate approximately $13.9 billion in additional annual revenue. AI companies require energy, and Bitcoin miners possess the most abundant energy layouts; this "miner defection" wave has directly exacerbated supply-side pressure on BTC. Politically Linked Sell-offs Fuel Market Panic Lookonchain data shows that Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT) transferred 2,650 BTC (approximately $205 million) from a cold wallet to a crypto exchange on Friday. This media group, controlled by the family of former President Trump, had previously accumulated 11,542 BTC at an average price of over $11,850. This large-scale cashing out by a politically linked entity has had a significant impact on market sentiment. Investors are questioning whether these BTC are being deposited into exchanges or sold directly on-chain, both of which create substantial selling pressure in the short term. Stagnation of US Crypto Legislation Progress on two key cryptocurrency bills in the US Congress has been slow, further weakening market expectations for upcoming policy dividends: The Digital Asset PARITY Act aims to reform crypto taxation, exempting miners and Staking rewards from being taxed before they are sold. This proposal was formally submitted in May but has not yet been scheduled for hearings or a vote. The Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act is awaiting a full Senate vote, with no date currently set. The bill would divide regulatory authority over digital assets between the CFTC and the SEC, while complementing the already passed GENIUS Act (stablecoin legislation). Legislative stagnation means the US crypto market remains in a state of limbo regarding "regulatory certainty," making it difficult for investors to factor policy dividends into valuation models. Fed Balance Sheet Stagnation, Liquidity Expectations Fall Through The market previously expected the Fed to continue expanding its balance sheet, injecting liquidity into the market by purchasing US Treasuries. However, since April 15, the Fed's total asset size has stagnated at $6.7 trillion, with the pace of expansion slowing significantly. Rising oil prices have pushed up inflation expectations, making the Fed more cautious in its monetary policy. If expansionary measures drive oil prices and inflation too quickly, they could backfire on economic growth. This also means that the market's pricing expectations for "liquidity premiums" are being recalibrated. Capital Flows into AI Infrastructure The weakness in Bitcoin stands in stark contrast to the surge in the AI infrastructure sector. The market caps of memory chip giants SK Hynix and Micron surpassed the $1 trillion mark for the first time, with multiple stocks gaining over 20% in a single week. This capital diversion effect shows that investors are shifting their bets from "digital gold" to "AI hard currency." As tech giants continue to report earnings that exceed expectations, capital naturally flows from the relatively static BTC to the AI supply chain, which offers tangible