T. Rowe Price crypto head Blue Macellari on Thursday argued AI has pulled the marginal crypto buyer away from crypto, and institutional adoption is moving too slowly to fill that gap.

How AI Stole Crypto’s Marginal Buyer

Macellari shared on Raoul Pal’s The Journeyman podcast that investors who previously bought Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) or Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) on a high-growth thesis have been putting that same capital into AI equities instead, where returns have been faster and more visible.

She also pointed to a sugar high wearing off. From the launch of the first Bitcoin ETFs through last summer, crypto received unprecedented positive news almost every week.

A new administration, a new SEC, fresh regulatory guidance, and wave after wave of institutional adoption announcements kept sentiment running hot.

That pace was impossible to sustain, and the market has been digesting the slowdown ever since.

Moreover, she acknowledged the October crash itself remains a mystery. “I don’t feel like I’ve heard something where I was like, ‘Oh okay, that was it, that makes sense to me,'” Macellari said.

Why Has Crypto Struggled to Capture Upside Since October?

Macellari pointed to two reasons for the weakness. From the launch of the first Bitcoin ETFs through last summer, crypto received unprecedented positive news almost every week without a break. 

A new administration, a new SEC, fresh regulatory guidance, and wave after wave of institutional adoption announcements kept sentiment running hot. 

That kind of momentum is impossible to sustain, and the market has been digesting the slowdown ever since.

Second, AI sucked the air out of the room for the marginal crypto buyer.

Investors who would previously have bought Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) or Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) on a high-growth thesis have been rotating that capital into AI equities instead, where the returns have been visible and immediate.

Why Is She Still Bullish on Crypto’s Bigger Picture?

Macellari noted that every major institutional player is now building something in crypto.

The demand from large corporate boards has accelerated sharply, with her doing 15 to 20 board presentations on tokenization and stablecoins in just the past six months after never being asked before that.

She said the total addressable market for crypto has expanded from 8 billion people to effectively infinite as AI agents begin transacting on-chain. 

Stablecoins are growing fast, the real-world asset bucket is building, and 24/7 equity trading on-chain is coming. The infrastructure is in place, the institutions are here, and the only missing piece is speed of execution.

Where She Sees The Opportunity Right Now

Macellari identified on-chain finance as the clearest opportunity, covering tokenization, payments, and chains built for institutional use. 

She specifically highlighted Hyperliquid, as measured by Hyperliquid Strategies Inc (NASDAQ:PURR) as a name generating significant inbound interest from traditional hedge fund managers and CIOs who are only now starting to pay attention.

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