Summer bod not loading: Lekker Capital's Thompson tells crypto bulls to touch grass until September 🌞

Bitcoin remains under structural pressure into the summer months, according to Quinn Thompson, chief investment officer at Lekker Capital, who said his fund is firmly bearish on crypto as warning signs continue to mount. Thompson cited a combination of digital asset treasury (DAT) concerns, unresolved questions around Strategy's STRC preferred shares, and lingering fears about quantum computing risks to Bitcoin's security model.

These factors have contributed to one of the largest divergences between bitcoin and technology stocks in recent history, with crypto significantly underperforming continued strength across much of the tech sector, Thompson argued. Bitcoin's price action has decoupled from the Nasdaq, even as semiconductor and AI supply chain names have driven gains in the broader technology complex.

Thompson's bearish view extends well beyond crypto. He pointed to weakening Magnificent 7 leadership relative to the broader Nasdaq, noting that healthy bull markets have historically been characterized by index leaders actually leading. He added that rising debt levels at hyperscalers, declining free cash flow tied to AI-related capital expenditure, and trillions of dollars in upcoming IPO supply from companies including SpaceX, Anthropic and OpenAI are set to compete for investor capital.

The CIO also flagged that massive AI capex commitments are pressuring free cash flow, lifting debt levels and reducing share buybacks at the largest technology companies, even as cutting that spending could undermine the semiconductor and AI infrastructure trade that has supported the broader market. Thompson said he sees a difficult path ahead for both AI leaders and the wider market, framing his outlook as a waiting game that extends past the summer.