Ai Bubble Risks In 2026: What’s The Potential Impact On Bitcoin Price?

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino warned an AI sector correction could spill over into crypto markets in 2026, with some analysts projecting BTC to drop to as low as $65,000.

Concerns are mounting that global equity markets may be drifting into another bubble, fueled by relentless optimism about AI. If that bubble cracks in 2026, Bitcoin (BTC) and the broader crypto market could be among the first to feel the fallout.

AI bubble risks could hit crypto first, as overstretched, debt-funded equity markets unwind.

Bitcoin may fall to $60,000–$75,000, but institutional support could help limit losses compared to past crashes.

In November, 45% of fund managers surveyed by Bank of America flagged an “AI bubble” as the market’s biggest tail risk, up from just 11% in September.

More than half of respondents said they believe AI stocks are already trading in bubble territory, thanks to huge spending and poor return on investment.

Companies such as Meta Platforms, Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Oracle have ramped up AI infrastructure spending in 2025.

That spending is expected to surge, with combined capital expenditures, or capex, predicted to rise 64% year-over-year to more than $500 billion by 2026, according to Alexander Joshi, Head of Behavioral Finance at Barclays UK.

“Estimates place AI data centres among the largest infrastructure build-outs in modern history,” he wrote in a November report, adding:

Financial analyst HedgieMarkets warned that the AI boom risks a far harsher crash than the 2000s dot-com bubble burst, arguing the sector spent roughly $400 billion to generate just $60 billion in revenue in 2025, with most firms seeing no returns.

Source: CoinTelegraph