Bitcoin’s massive slump from a record price above $126,000 last October has darkened sentiment across the crypto landscape. Faith has been shaken in a trade that was viewed as a digital rival to gold as a store of value, and by some others as a risk-on asset that would continue to boom alongside a crypto-friendly Trump administration.

Since the all-time high price last October, bitcoin has lost almost half its value and its inability to bounce back in trading is increasing fears about another “crypto winter” — a prolonged slump similar to the time of the FTX crash in 2022 when bitcoin fell from near $50,000 to as low as $15,000. In the past month alone, bitcoin is down over 25%.

But crypto investing experts on the latest CNBC “ETF Edge” say a look at the recent flows into and out of bitcoin and crypto exchange-trade funds suggests that long-term investors are not abandoning the asset class. Money has certainly moved out, but they say not to a level that suggests long-term investor panic.

Over the past three months, the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has seen approximately $2.8 billion in net outflows. That is substantial, but over the past year, the BlackRock ETF has attracted near $21 billion in net inflows, according to VettaFi. The broader spot bitcoin ETF category shows a similar pattern. Over the past three months, the ETF asset class has experienced roughly $5.8 billion in net outflows. Over the past year, across all spot bitcoin ETFs, net inflows remain positive by $14.2 billion. Money is exiting, but the majority of assets have remained in place, and some ETF experts say the money being pulled isn’t from the long-term investor or financial advisor that have begun allocating to the asset class.

“It’s not the ETF investors who are driving the sell off,” said Matt Hougan, Bitwise Asset Management CIO, on “ETF Edge.”

He says much of the broader pressure in bitcoin may be coming from crypto investors who accumulated positions over many years and are now trimming exposure. “It’s really a tale of two sides,” Hougan said. He also said there are hedge funds and short-term traders who use the most liquid ETFs as tools and may pull capital quickly when momentum turns negative.

At CNBC’s Digital Finance Forum last week, Galaxy CEO Mike Novogratz said the crypto market’s “era of speculation” may be ending, and returns going forward will be more like a long-term investment holding. “It’s going to be real world assets with much lower returns,” he said at the CNBC event in New York City last Tuesday. “Retail people don’t get into crypto because they want to make 11% annualized,” he said. “They get in because they want to make 30 to one, eight to one, 10 to one.”

Financial advisors at Wall Street banks are among those adding bitcoin to investor portfolios, and adding their own branded crypto ETFs. And longer horizon investors who hold crypto as a small allocation within diversified portfolios may be willing to ride out volatility, Hougan said. If…

The software sector faced renewed market concerns this week after artificial intelligence company Anthropic released new AI tools, triggering a sell-off in software-as-a-service and data provider stocks. 

Anthropic’s new AI tools, built for its Claude “Cowork” AI agent, are designed to handle complex professional workflows that many software and data providers sell as core products.

The tools and other similar AI agents target functions ranging from legal and technology research, customer relationship management and analytics. That has raised concerns that AI could undercut traditional software business models.

The S&P 500 Software & Services Index, which has 140 constituents, fell over 4% on Thursday, extending its losing streak to eight sessions. The index is down about 20% so far this year.

Shares of Thomson Reuters, Salesforce and LegalZoom were among the hardest hit in U.S. trading this week, with the sell-off spreading to Asian IT firms Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys.

Despite the market jitters, analysts and tech executives remain divided on the long-term impact of these AI tools on these industries.

Among tech leaders downplaying market concerns that AI will replace enterprise software is Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.

“There’s this notion that the software industry is in decline and will be replaced by AI,” he said at an event on Wednesday. “It is the most illogical thing in the world.”

The influential tech leader instead argued that AI will use and enhance existing software tools rather than completely reinventing them.

Rene Haas, CEO of British chip designer Arm Holdings, echoed that sentiment this week, arguing during an earnings call that enterprise AI deployment is still in its early days and not yet massively transformative.

Haas described recent market fears as “micro-hysteria” in comments to the Financial Times.  

Still, concerns about the software sector predate the latest sell-offs. Hedge funds have already shorted about $24 billion in software stocks this year as of Wednesday. Short sellers borrow shares, sell them and aim to buy them back later at a lower price for a profit.

Meanwhile, Anthropic on Thursday launched what it called an improved AI model, ‌coming just days after its latest Claude tools spooked investors.

While many tech analysts have increasingly warned that AI is going “to eat” software over the long term, views on that risk and the latest sell-off in software stocks remain mixed.

In a research note on Wednesday, Wedbush Securities echoed Jensen Huang’s comments, saying that while AI is a headwind for software providers, the sell-off reflected an “Armageddon scenario for the sector that is far from reality.” 

“Enterprises won’t completely overhaul tens of billions of dollars of prior software infrastructure investments to migrate over to Anthropic,…

China on Thursday accused the U.S. of creating “panic” over Beijing’s controls on rare earth minerals, but indicated it is open to trade talks to resolve a dispute that has threatened to reignite a trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

“The US interpretation seriously distorts and exaggerates China’s measures, deliberately creating unnecessary misunderstanding and panic,” Ministry of Commerce spokesperson He Yongqian told a news conference, according to the state newspaper Global Times.

Beijing last week announced sweeping controls on rare earth exports ahead of an expected meeting between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping in South Korea. Trump has threatened to impose 100% tariffs on China starting Nov. 1 or sooner in retaliation.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer accused China of trying to control the world’s technology supply chains in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday. Beijing’s actions will determine whether the tariffs take effect, Greer said.

Trump wants to work with Beijing and is still scheduled to meet with Xi in South Korea later this month, Greer told CNBC. Beijing is open to talks with the U.S., China’s He said Thursday.

Beijing dominates the global rare earth supply chain and the U.S. is dependent on China for imports. The Trump administration is working to set up a domestic supply chain that is independent of Beijing. The Department of Defense struck a deal in July with MP Materials, the largest U.S. rare earth miner, that includes an equity stake, a price floor and an offtake agreement.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on Wednesday that the Trump administration could take equity stakes in other companies in the wake of China’s rare earth restrictions.

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Bessent said when asked about additional equity stakes. “When we get an announcement like this week with China on the rare earths, you realize we have to be self-sufficient, or we have to be sufficient with our allies.”

The Treasury secretary accused China of using its dominance in rare earth refining and processing to slash prices and push foreign competitors out of the market. Bessent said…

If you have any U.S. technology stocks in your portfolio (and let’s face it, who doesn’t?), you might want to look away.

For the second day in a row, tech stocks dragged markets lower, with the Nasdaq Composite slipping 0.67%. Juggernauts such as Apple, Amazon and Alphabet were more meh-nificent than magnificent, falling more than 1%.

Palantir — the standout S&P 500 stock, having more than doubled so far this year — spent its sixth consecutive day in the red and lost its place among a ranking of the 20 most valuable U.S. companies.

While Palantir’s slide was partly triggered by a report from short seller Andrew Left’s Citron Research, which called the company “detached from fundamentals and analysis,” there was no single trigger for the broader pullback.

Investors could have been spooked by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s caution about an AI bubble forming, although some analysts dispute that assertion. “In our view the tech bull cycle will be well intact at least for another 2-3 years,” said Wall Street tech bull Dan Ives.

Or it could be something benign, like traders locking in profits. “Tech stocks,” said Carol Schleif, chief market strategist at BMO Private Wealth, “have had an incredibly strong run – with some up over 80% since the early April lows.”

Summer, after all, is far from over. Some investors might have just wanted to cash out for another round of margaritas.

Fed officials divided over inflation and employment worries. Central bank governors generally agreed there were risks on both sides. But a couple — breaking from the majority — saw the labor market woes as more pressing, according to minutes of the Fed’s July meeting.

Trump likely to pick Kevin Hassett as next Fed Chair. The director of the National Economic Council firmly led the pack, according to a CNBC Fed Survey. However, respondents think the president “should” pick former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh.

No new solar or wind power projects, Trump says. Renewable energy projects will no longer receive approval, Trump posted Wednesday on Truth Social. His comment comes after the administration already tightened federal permitting last month. 

Fourth day of losses for the S&P 500. Investors continued selling off technology stocks on Wednesday, with Palantir having its sixth straight losing day. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 closed at another high despite inflation in July coming in hotter than expected.

[PRO] The Fed is expected to cut just as markets trade at highs. This is what tends to happen when both factors coincide, according to Goldman Sachs research.