As OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, Google, and SpaceX raise hundreds of billions for AI expansion, investors are asking whether capital will be pulled out from the crypto market.
The artificial intelligence (AI) boom is creating one of the largest funding cycles in modern financial history. From OpenAI and Anthropic to Meta and Google, companies are raising and spending hundreds of billions of dollars to build AI models, data centers, and chip infrastructure.
But as more capital flows into AI, investors wonder if this money could come from the crypto market?
According to JPMorgan, net U.S. equity issuance could reach roughly $200 billion in 2026 before surging to around $1.2 trillion in 2027. If that forecast comes true, it would be the largest two year period of stock issuance since the late 1990s.
Over the last 20 years, companies have spent nearly $12 trillion buying back their own shares, reducing the number of stocks available in the market. Well, now the trend is reversing as firms issue new shares to fund AI expansion.
One of the biggest examples is Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which raised over an $85.7 billion at a valuation of $1.75 trillion in an Initial public offering (IPO). What was surprising was that the IPO had already been oversubscribed four times. This shows that investors are eager to invest in an AI based firm.
Now, next in line we’ve OpenAI and Anthropic, which are also expected to go for IPO in the coming years.
Well, the money required to build AI systems is massive. Meta recently said it could spend up to $135 billion on AI infrastructure in 2026, almost double the roughly $72 billion it spent last year.
Alphabet has also accelerated its spending plans. In June, Google's parent company raised $84.75 billion through a secondary stock offering, the largest such fundraising event on record, to support its growing AI investments.Google CEO Sunder Pichai said that Google will spend over $90 Billion on AI per year.
Meanwhile, Oracle, Microsoft, Amazon, and other technology giants continue expanding data centers and buying advanced AI chips.
Unlike previous technology cycles, AI requires huge amounts of computing power, electricity, and hardware. Building these systems costs hundreds of billions of dollars before companies generate meaningful returns.
The excitement around AI has expanded beyond private markets.
Reports suggest the Trump administration is exploring ways for the federal government to acquire financial stakes in leading AI companies.
The idea actually comes from a proposal first discussed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, where AI firms could contribute equity into a public wealth fund. Returns generated by the fund could then be distributed to American citizens.
President Trump recently said he plans to meet with the AI industry's top executives to discuss ways the sector can "give back" to the public.
When large AI companies raise hundreds of billions of dollars through IPOs and secondary offerings, that money must come from somewhere.
Institutional investors, hedge funds, pension funds, and retail traders may sell other assets to free up cash by selling other assets. That could include stocks, bonds, and mainly cryptocurrencies.
We’ve recently seen money flowing out of cryptocurrency after the SpaceX IPO announcement. The crypto market lost nearly $180 billion in value as investors moved capital elsewhere.
At the same time, spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded roughly $6.5 billion in outflows over a month. The selling pressure pushed Bitcoin below $60,000, while many major cryptocurrencies fell between 20% and 30%.
While this doesn't mean investors have turned against crypto, it shows how quickly capital can move when a new investment theme captures Wall Street's attention.
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