BitMine Chairman Tom Lee (톰 리) suggested three possible reasons behind the recent sharp drop in the cryptocurrency market. On Nov. 15, blockchain media outlet U.Today reported that Lee cited margin calls triggered by a plunge in AI and semiconductor stocks, fundraising ahead of Anthropic’s initial public offering and fallout from a $6.3 billion Binance hack in late October as key factors.

He raised the possibility that the decline in AI and semiconductor stocks, led by Nvidia, especially led to margin calls among individual investors in Asian markets. He said investors may have sold other assets, including cryptocurrencies, to secure liquidity to maintain leveraged positions.

He also mentioned the possibility that investors sold holdings of existing stocks and cryptocurrencies to raise funds ahead of Anthropic’s IPO. He also said selling pressure may have increased after the Binance hack as some account holders cashed out recovered funds or converted them into stablecoins.

Lee also pointed to the risk AI could pose to existing cybersecurity systems and the possibility of stronger U.S. restrictions on semiconductor sales to Asian markets, including China, as additional burdens. He drew a line, saying all of this was not a confirmed cause of the decline but possible explanations.

The market shock was reflected in prices and derivatives indicators. Bitcoin fell below $70,000 on Nov. 13, then dropped below $66,000 on Nov. 14. It slid to around $62,112 on Nov. 15, marking its lowest level since July. Ether slipped to around $1,711, its lowest since early July, while XRP and Solana also fell sharply.

Liquidations also surged. CoinGlass data showed that about $2.0 billion worth of leveraged cryptocurrency positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours, with most of them bets on prices rising. U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs saw net outflows of about $3.0 billion from Oct. 30 to Nov. 13.