Anthony Pompliano explains why Bitcoin just might recover

Anthony Pompliano said Bitcoin’s recent pullback reflects a combination of technical, macroeconomic and structural forces rather than a breakdown in the long-term thesis, arguing that volatility has actually continued to compress as the asset matures.

Speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Feb. 9, Anthony Pompliano, founder and CEO of Professional Capital Management, said the selloff below the US$70,000 level follows a “death by a thousand cuts” rather than any single catalyst.

“People are drastically underestimating how big of a deflationary force is hitting the U.S. economy,” he said. “When inflation comes back — and it will at some point — I think Bitcoin will do very well over the long run.”

“I think there are four things that are going on,” Pompliano said. He pointed first to profit-taking around the US$100,000 psychological milestone, noting that some long-term holders chose to exit after years of gains. He also cited Bitcoin’s growing financialization, including ETFs, options and public-company exposure, which has introduced new trading dynamics beyond simple buy-and-hold behaviour.

Pompliano said macro expectations have also shifted.]

“Bitcoin is a forward-looking market,” he said, adding that while inflation fears helped drive gains last year, deflation risk is now becoming the dominant concern. “I think that deflation is the bigger risk, and Bitcoin has sold off aggressively over the last couple of months.”

He said that investor attention has become more fragmented as capital flows into adjacent themes such as artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.

“It doesn’t mean people are going to leave Bitcoin,” he said. “There’s just more at the buffet.”

Despite the drawdown, Pompliano argued the market’s behaviour remains constructive in the historical context.

“From the peak to now, this is the best-performing bear market we’ve ever had,” he said, noting that the current cycle has seen the smallest drawdowns relative to prior downturns. He also said Bitcoin’s volatility has continued to compress, calling it “a feature, not a bug,” that has fallen from an “80-volt asset to a 40-volt asset.”

On longer-term positioning, Pompliano said Bitcoin’s role is increasingly distinct from other digital assets.

“Technology is very good at specializing things,” he said. “Bitcoin is a store of value. Stablecoins are a medium of exchange.” He argued that artificial intelligence agents and automated financial systems are likely to use both, holding Bitcoin as a savings asset while relying on stablecoins for transactions.

Pompliano also pointed to the deflationary impact of AI as a longer-term macro force that could ultimately support Bitcoin.

“People are drastically underestimating how big of a deflationary force is hitting the U.S. economy,” he said. “When inflation comes back — and it will at some point — I think Bitcoin will do very well over the long run.”

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