📉 “You Can’t Separate Bitcoin From Wall Street”: Veteran Investor Warns Crypto Is Still Riding the Same Macro Storm

Bitcoin’s latest tumble has reignited a familiar debate in financial circles: Is the world’s largest cryptocurrency truly an independent asset—or just another passenger on the global market roller coaster?

For Jordi Visser, a veteran macro investor with more than three decades on Wall Street, the answer is blunt.

“You cannot separate Bitcoin from the traditional finance world. You just can’t,” Visser said in a recent interview with investor Anthony Pompliano, adding that he, like many others, has been “losing money” during the downturn.

His remarks land at a moment when Bitcoin is struggling to regain momentum after a sharp selloff that rattled digital-asset markets and erased more than $2 trillion in crypto value since early October.

Unlike previous downturns tied to specific shocks—such as exchange failures or regulatory crackdowns—this decline appears to stem from a complex mix of macroeconomic forces.

Matthew Sigel, head of digital asset research at VanEck, said the slide was driven by several overlapping pressures:

The result has been a market correction that feels less like panic and more like a reassessment of where crypto fits in a rapidly shifting investment landscape.

Visser argues Bitcoin still lacks a strong “fundamental narrative” capable of competing with returns available elsewhere in the market.

“If institutional investors can get similar or better performance from the world’s largest liquid companies, they won’t feel compelled to buy Bitcoin,” he said.

That comparison has not favored crypto recently. Over the past year:

The divergence underscores a key challenge for Bitcoin advocates: convincing pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and other large allocators that crypto deserves a permanent place alongside equities.

Bitcoin narrowly avoided slipping below $60,000 during last week’s selloff before rebounding above $70,000. Even so, the cryptocurrency remains roughly 43% below its all-time highs, reflecting a market still searching for direction.

Analysts say that kind of partial recovery, without sustained inflows, suggests hesitation rather than renewed conviction.

Despite the turbulence, some prominent investors remain deeply optimistic.

ARK Invest founder Cathie Wood has reiterated her long-term $1 million price target for Bitcoin, arguing that the rapid growth of stablecoins signals increasing credibility and maturation across the digital-asset ecosystem.

Meanwhile, veteran trader “Mayne” has taken a more selective stance, saying Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency worth holding for the long run and warning that the vast majority of altcoins primarily benefit insiders over retail investors.

Fears of another prolonged “crypto winter” have surfaced, but not all analysts believe history will repeat itself.

Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan said a deep, multi-year downturn similar to 2022 is unlikely, even if volatility persists. Instead, he sees the current environment as a transitional phase shaped by global liquidity conditions and competition for investor attention.

Visser’s central thesis—that Bitcoin remains tightly tethered to traditional markets—reflects a growing consensus among macro investors.

As capital flows toward sectors promising tangible earnings growth, particularly AI and mega-cap technology, Bitcoin must compete not just as a hedge or speculative asset but as part of a broader portfolio allocation decision.

That means interest rates, equity performance, and global liquidity may matter more to Bitcoin’s trajectory than blockchain-specific developments.

Bitcoin’s identity crisis is not new, but it is becoming harder to ignore. Is it digital gold, a risk asset, a tech proxy, or something entirely different?

Until that question is answered convincingly for institutional investors, analysts say the cryptocurrency may continue to move less like an independent revolution—and more like a high-volatility reflection of the same financial system it once aimed to disrupt.

For now, Bitcoin isn’t escaping Wall Street’s gravity.

It’s orbiting it.