Saylor Blames Trade Policy, Rising Yields and AI Spending for Bitcoin’s Struggles

Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor blames trade policy, rising yields and artificial intelligence (AI) spending for Bitcoin (BTC) weakness. He still says the asset is returning to a bull market. Bitcoin trades near $82,400, according to BeInCrypto data. His remarks came at crypto investment firm ParaFi Capitals Investor Day, according to a Strategy video posted October 17. Why Does Saylor Say Bitcoin Falls Harder Than Stocks? Saylor said risk-off shocks hit Bitcoin harder than equities because of how he classifies the asset. Bitcoin is pure capital. Michael Saylor, Executive Chairman of Strategy, via ParaFi He pointed to restrictive trade, foreign and monetary policy over the past year. He also cited repeated trade war declarations against Canada and yield curves rising 100 basis points, or one percentage point. AI is the other drag, in his view. He said the AI buildout is a roughly $1 trillion draw on investor money. Meanwhile, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has warned that government deficits and tech demand are competing for limited capital. Can the Bull Case Survive a Stock Market Drop? Saylor cited a bounce off a key moving average about three months ago. However, Bitcoin remains about 35% below its October 2025 record of $126,080, BeInCryptos latest price data shows. Not everyone shares his optimism. Mike McGlone, a senior commodity strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence, sees more downside. On October 16, he said Bitcoin could fall toward $10,000 if US stocks drop 20%. In contrast, CryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju argued that spot exchange-traded funds have absorbed $58 billion. He added that on-chain cost basis points to a floor near $30,000. Still, Saylors answer is bank adoption. He also expects bank custody of Bitcoin to build credit networks over the next 12 to 24 months. He said each $10 billion of credit equals roughly one year of supply. Strategy, which Saylor says holds about 4% of all Bitcoin that will ever exist, could benefit from such demand. Therefore, the test is whether bank credit can outpace macro pressure. That answer could shape how institutions treat Bitcoin.