BlackRock’s Rick Rieder, UBS’s Ulrike Hoffman Burchardi and hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb believe the economy could continue to grow in 2026 even as the market’s center of gravity shifts.
The broader message from their separate appearances at a conference in Miami last week is that the AI boom is not ending. In fact, they say the easy phase may be over. As money spreads out beyond a handful of giant US tech stocks, investors may need to think less about riding on one theme and more about where growth, pricing power and disruption will emerge next.
This view could be important for the cryptocurrency market, especially Bitcoin BTC67 901,40 dollars. As investors move away from the crowded trades of the past few years, some may look to assets outside the traditional equity sector. Bitcoin often trades like a proxy for high-beta technology during risk-on periods, but it could also attract demand as investors seek diversification from dollar assets, long-held growth stocks, or amid policy uncertainty.
In reality, however, Bitcoin has not consistently acted as a primary hedge against dollar weakness, especially as investors have moved away from the dollar and gold has become the dominant asset in recent months. However, as Bitcoin matures, many argue that Bitcoin is still a young asset compared to gold, but that could change.
Reeder, BlackRock’s chief investment officer for global fixed income, said the company is expanding its portfolio away from focused technology investments. He said he still likes some of the technology, but said the investment environment is different than it was last year for as long as he can remember going forward.
Part of his outlook is based on the idea that even with lower interest rates, U.S. growth could unexpectedly pick up. Rieder said AI-driven productivity could boost economic expansion while a still-soft labor market will keep inflation in check. He also argued that because the United States is more reliant on services than goods, tariffs may be important for certain industries, but would have less impact at the economy-wide level.
In the case of Bitcoin, this combination goes both ways. Stronger growth and lower interest rates typically support risky assets, including cryptocurrencies. But if inflation is brought under control and real economic activity improves, investors may feel less urgent to look for alternative stores of value. In that setting, the case for Bitcoin could lean more toward portfolio diversification and institutional adoption than macro fear.
Hoffman Burchardi, chief investment officer for the Americas and head of global equities at UBS Global Wealth Management, also said the macro environment should improve this year, pointing to fiscal stimulus in major countries and more room for interest rate cuts in the United States. But her bigger point was that the AI industry is changing.
After three years of the market rewarding companies that enable the creation of AI, investors are entering a phase where the winners and losers will become clearer, he said. UBS responded by downgrading its overweight rating to technology and communications services and shifting to industrials, electrification and healthcare.
That rotation could also impact cryptocurrencies. Tokens tied to broader AI narratives could face increased scrutiny as equity investors become more selective about AI and digital business models. Bitcoin may be better placed than smaller crypto assets in that environment due to the simplicity of its investment case. It doesn’t depend on proving a software revenue model or winning the race for AI market share.
Loeb, founder of hedge fund Third Point, said the market is already rewarding investors for deeper stock selection and more short selling. He described the shift from crowded mega-cap stocks to smaller, niche companies, such as companies in Europe, Japan and South Korea that supply key parts of building AI.
On the economy, Loeb said the U.S. is in good shape for the next six months, but he’s less confident about the outlook beyond that. He also said that stress on private credit, particularly loans related to software companies, would likely generate losses over time but would not amount to a systemic shock.
Three investors outlined a year in which growth continues, AI remains dominant, and markets become difficult to navigate. For Bitcoin, that could mean less tailwind from simple momentum trading and more need to stand on its own as a hedge, diversifier, or liquid alternative in a more fragmented market.