Galaxy Digital Flags AI, Stablecoins, Tokenization as Catalysts for Next Crypto Rally


Alex Thorn, #GalaxyDigital's head of research, argues the structural bull market in crypto remains intact despite October's volatility and softer risk appetite. His analysis identifies three major tailwinds that could power the next leg higher for digital assets, even as near-term conditions remain fragile.


The Oct. 10 sell-off began with high leverage slamming into thin order books, according to Thorn's assessment shared with Galaxy Research subscribers. Market conditions worsened as exchange auto-deleveraging capped some market-maker shorts and thinned liquidity at the worst possible moment, amplifying downward pressure.


Roughly $19 billion in #liquidations occurred as $BTC slid from an Oct. 6 all-time high near $126,300 to an intraday low around $107,000. $ETH fell from approximately $4,800 to roughly $3,500 before markets stabilized into the weekend, marking one of the most severe deleveraging events in recent crypto history.


Risk appetite faded again as macro jitters resurfaced, with #Thorn pointing to softness in chip stocks and a hawkish turn from a Federal Reserve governor. Renewed concerns and geopolitical noise contributed to classic risk-off behavior, with gold and silver setting fresh records and the 10-year Treasury yield dipping back below 4%.


Thorn also identified a crypto-specific drag from cooled digital asset treasury companies, noting that with equity prices down across that cohort, there's less price-insensitive buying to deploy into #crypto. This adds to near-term fragility even after the initial washout, though medium-term prospects remain constructive.


The first major tailwind Thorn highlights is #AI capital spending, which he frames as a real-economy capex cycle led by cash-rich incumbents, including hyperscalers, chipmakers and data-center operators.

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October 20, 2025 at 3:39 AM
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