Coinbase Issues $130 Billion ‘Systemic’ Bitcoin Price Warning

June 13, 2025

Bitcoin has fallen sharply after Israel launched a devastating attack on Iran overnight, with traders braced for an “extraordinary” White House update.

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The bitcoin price dropped toward $100,000 per bitcoin after climbing to within touching distance of its May all-time high as a $37 trillion “ticking time bomb” fuels fears of a looming market shock.

Now, as Tesla billionaire Elon Musk backs a surprise prediction bitcoin could replace the U.S. dollar, the global head of research at bitcoin and crypto exchange Coinbase has warned the trend of companies buying bitcoin could pose a “systemic risk” to the crypto market.

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“Crypto adoption by corporate treasuries is an important source of demand, albeit there are valid concerns about potential systemic risks in the medium-to-long term,” David Duong, Coinbase’s global head of research, wrote in a report.

Led by software company turned bitcoin buying giant Strategy, hundreds of companies around the world have begun adding bitcoin to their corporate treasuries, often paid for by issuing debt in the from of bonds or share sales.

“Thus, the fear is that indiscriminate selling by many entities at once (to service those debts) could lead to market liquidations and a sell-off in crypto more broadly,” Duong wrote, adding that, “if prices start to fall and these entities perceive a narrowing exit, others may rush to sell as well, destabilizing the market well before any actual debt repayment issues emerge.”

In March, GameStop became the latest company to jump on the bitcoin bandwagon, buying $500 million worth of bitcoin and raising around $3 billion to buy even more.

Combined, companies now own around $130 billion worth of bitcoin, with publicly traded companies making up $80 billion of that.

Strategy alone, led by bitcoin mega bull Michael Saylor, has bought almost 600,000 bitcoin, nearly 3% of the total 21 million bitcoin supply, worth $60 billion.

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These risks are “manageable in the near term,” according to Duong, with other bitcoin price and crypto market analysts agreeing that corporate bitcoin-buying will serve as a tailwind for the bitcoin price for now.

“As macro clarity improves, we should see bitcoin flows accelerate – driven by renewed institutional confidence, increased activity from bitcoin treasuries, and the continued rollout of state-level strategic bitcoin reserve (SBR) programs,” Matt Mena, crypto research strategist at 21Shares, said in an emailed note, adding his year-end bitcoin price target of almost $140,000 could be reached before the end of the summer.

“These dynamics could supercharge [bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund] ETF inflows and reinforce bitcoin’s evolving role in global portfolios.”