Dan Tapiero says fracturing of fracturing capital behind crypto crash (4:47)
Bitcoin’s (BTC) sharp pullback from $125,000 to near $60,000 has rattled investors who expected a routine correction, not a 50% drawdown.
Speaking with The Wolf of All Streets and TheStreet Roundtable host Scott Melker, 50T Holdings founder Dan Tapiero said the decline was deeper than anticipated but not thesis-breaking.
“We thought we were going to get a 20%-30% correction from $125,000 down to $100,000 or $90,000. That seemed okay,” Tapiero said. “This pullback has been a little more than I would have anticipated.”
Bitcoin has been hovering around $65,000 right now, with Tapiero suggesting the $50,000-$60,000 price range represents significant long-term value.
Tapiero reiterated a long-held view that $100,000 would act as a major resistance point.
“When we were at $20,000, $30,000, $40,000, I said we’re going to hit $100,000 and then it’s just going to stop,” he said.
Tapiero described it as a natural pause where early investors would be sitting on massive profits. Instead, Bitcoin surged to $125,000 before reversing sharply.
Related: Macro Guru Dan Tapiero says ‘all value is migrating on-chain’
Fracturing of speculative capital
According to Tapiero, the downturn reflects a broader “fracturing” of investible or speculative capital across markets.
“All of the venture tokens are down 90% plus,” he noted, highlighting widespread losses in early-stage crypto projects.
At the same time, Bitcoin itself has matured into what he describes as a fully institutional asset class. Spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have drawn substantial inflows, and several companies now hold Bitcoin or Ether (ETH) on their balance sheets through various structures like debt.
Tapiero estimated that 5%-10% of total supply in major digital assets is now held in institutional formats, marking a dramatic shift from just a few years ago.
“It’s success. It’s what we all wanted,” he said.
However, speculative capital has rotated into other areas, including artificial intelligence, robotics, precious metals and other emerging sectors. Tapiero, who also has exposure to gold through his company GBI, said that capital migration is visible across markets.
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Tapiero flags 'crappy' crypto projects
Tapiero also criticized the proliferation of low-quality crypto projects.
“We seem to shoot ourselves in the foot in the space with all of these crappy projects,” he argued that an oversupply of tokens has diluted investor focus and capital.
Yet while many speculative tokens struggle, Tapiero pointed to rapid growth in on-chain infrastructure and real-world adoption.
He cited decentralized crypto trading platforms such as Hyperliquid generating significant trading volume, as well as the rise of prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi. Meanwhile, stablecoins processed $33 trillion in volume last year.
Tapiero sees this as only the beginning, noting that most current stablecoins are dollar-denominated, with non-dollar stablecoins yet to meaningfully scale.
'Blockchain is the money of AI'
Looking ahead, Tapiero framed blockchain technology as foundational to the coming wave of artificial intelligence (AI). “Blockchain is the money of AI,” he said.
As AI agents transact with one another, he argued, they will require programmable money rather than traditional banking rails.
“When they send value to each other, they’re not going to be wiring money through JPMorgan,” Tapiero said. “They’re going to be using programmable money, smart contracts embedded on blockchain.”
In his view, that dynamic cements crypto’s long-term utility regardless of near-term price volatility.