AI IPO wave draws $28B from investors as crypto capital dries up

A wave of blockbuster AI listings is drawing tens of billions of dollars from global investors, reinforcing a rotation away from crypto that has already pushed stablecoin market caps to multiyear lows.

"Capital is flowing to where growth is most visible, and right now that's AI infrastructure, not digital assets," Brian Nick, head of portfolio strategy at Newedge Wealth LLC, said.

SK Hynix, the South Korean memory chip giant, is raising about $24.5 billion through its July 10 US listing — a deal more than seven times oversubscribed, according to Bloomberg. China's Changxin Memory Technologies (CXMT) follows days later with a 29.5 billion yuan ($4.3 billion) Shanghai IPO, with subscriptions opening July 16. The back-to-back mega deals follow listings from SpaceX and Cerebras, highlighting how capital continues to concentrate in companies building the physical infrastructure behind artificial intelligence.

The capital rotation is showing up in crypto market data. Stablecoin market cap fell to $312 billion in June, its largest monthly drop since the TerraUSD collapse, according to CoinDesk Research. Tokenized equity volumes surged 145% to a record $3.86 billion, driven largely by the SpaceX IPO — suggesting investors are using on-chain rails to access traditional AI equity rather than holding crypto positions. Global venture funding hit a record $510 billion in the first half of 2026, with AI companies OpenAI and Anthropic accounting for more than 40% of that total, per Crunchbase. Crypto captured just $10.8 billion in venture funding over the same period, Cryptorank data shows.

Paradigm's Pivot Signals Broader Shift

The rotation extends beyond public markets. Paradigm, one of crypto's largest venture investors, raised $1.2 billion for a new fund focused on AI and robotics — its first vehicle to invest outside digital assets. The firm has already deployed capital into autonomous drone delivery company Zipline and space defense startup True Anomaly. Managing partner Alana Palmedo told Bloomberg that while crypto "continues to be a really exciting" area, "there's so much else happening right now that's pretty hard to ignore."

Singapore's Temasek has gone further, saying crypto is "off the table" as it pivots to AI. Framework Ventures raised $400 million last month for investments spanning crypto, AI, robotics and energy. Haun Ventures raised $1 billion in May for crypto and AI.

What's at Stake for Bitcoin

The pipeline of AI mega-offerings shows no signs of slowing. OpenAI and Anthropic have both been discussed as companies that could eventually command valuations approaching $1 trillion, though growing unease over AI valuations and a cooling semiconductor sector could delay those listings until 2027, according to market expectations cited by Bloomberg. Even so, another wave of AI mega-offerings would likely continue drawing liquidity away from crypto, suppressing Bitcoin prices and delaying the next cycle of capital inflows into digital assets.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.