BTC USD, ETH, and XRP Are Moving Today: Why Does AI News Move Crypto?

Ben Graham · 2026-02-25T09:03:46Z

When bad news hits the Artificial Intelligence (AI) sector, like fears of massive job losses or economic instability in the US caused by automation, it doesn’t just hurt tech stocks. It dampens the mood across the entire future tech basket, including crypto. We saw AI-induced panic in BTC, ETH, XRP, followed by quick recovery.

Bitcoin briefly plunged below the crucial psychological $65k level on 24 February 2026, to $63k, before recovering today, on 25 February 2026. But why does a report about robots and the economy crash the price of Bitcoin? Both cryptocurrency and AI stocks are considered risk-on assets. This means they are speculative investments that perform best when investors feel optimistic about the future and the economy.

It is similar to how broader tariff fears drive price drops; when the macroeconomic outlook gets cloudy, investors tend to sell their riskiest assets first to hold onto cash.

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Are AI Headlines The New Fed Rate Hikes?

We are seeing the crypto and AI correlation play out in real-time today.

Is there a competition for capital? Yes. AI is the shiny new object stealing investment dollars that used to go to crypto. If the economy is indeed threatened by AI as the research suggests, that capital flight could accelerate.

However, we shouldn’t ignore the counter-argument. Many experts believe AI and Crypto are complementary, not enemies. In fact, AI models themselves have predicted significantly higher prices for Bitcoin and XRP in 2026, basing these forecasts on technical cycles rather than sudden economic scares. The technology underpinning AI will eventually require the verification and payment rails that only blockchain can provide.

7 leading AI models predict Bitcoin's price through 2045:

I asked each of them for the most probable forecast, then took the median (most balanced, least-skewed consensus). See below.

Note: if you buy Bitcoin below $75k, your returns would be even higher. It's currently at… pic.twitter.com/ndyFbnAht2

— George Kao (@GeorgeKao) February 18, 2026

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BTC USD, ETH And XRP Take The AI Hit

Bitcoin’s dip dragged Ethereum and XRP down with it, following a jarring research note about the economic risks of artificial intelligence. Traders are reacting to the uncertainty by liquidating positions, fearing that if AI disrupts the broader economy, liquidity (available cash to invest) will dry up.

Ethereum’s connection to this story is even more direct. Leaders in the space are actively trying to merge these technologies. For instance, Vitalik Buterin recently proposed using AI for blockchain governance, and OpenAI has partnered with Paradigm to test AI agents on Ethereum. While these are positive long-term developments, they bind Ethereum’s fate closely to the AI narrative. When AI is viewed as an economic threat rather than a tool, Ethereum price action suffers collateral damage.

XRP is facing a double whammy. It generally follows Bitcoin’s price movements (a correlation of roughly 0.7-0.9), but it has its own struggles today. XRP recently recorded a spike in realized losses on its network, indicating that holders were already selling at a loss before this AI news broke. The market-wide dip just accelerated a trend that was arguably already happening.

Market cap of major tokens is currently showing high sensitivity to macro-tech news. AI headlines are the new Fed rate hikes.

— Crypto Analyst (@ExampleHandle) February 24, 2026

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Key Takeaways

Bitcoin dropped below $65,000 after a research note raised fears about AI’s negative impact on the US economy.
Crypto and AI stocks are correlated “risk-on” assets, meaning bad news for one often drags down the other.
Investors should watch for a reclaim of the $65,000 level to confirm if this is a temporary panic or a deeper trend.

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