Bitcoin Below $60K: 21-Month Low as ETF Outflows Hit $4.4B

Bitcoin plunged below $60,000 on June 28, hitting $59,023.98 — its lowest level since October 2024. The breach marks a 21-month low for the world’s largest cryptocurrency, which has now shed more than 50% from its all-time high of $126,000 reached in October 2025. Year-to-date, Bitcoin is down approximately 28%, underperforming major equity indices as capital rotates toward artificial intelligence investments.

What Happened

Bitcoin’s descent below $60,000 accelerated this week as a confluence of macroeconomic pressures and crypto-specific headwinds converged. The cryptocurrency touched an intraday low of $59,023.98 on June 24 before staging a modest recovery, only to retest the level on June 28. According to CNBC, the 16% weekly decline represents Bitcoin’s worst performance since the FTX collapse in late 2022.

The primary catalyst has been a record streak of outflows from U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs. Data from Farside Investors shows 13 consecutive sessions of net outflows totaling $4.4 billion through June 5, the longest such streak since the funds launched in January 2024. Total assets under management across the 11 spot ETFs have fallen from $113 billion at year-end 2025 to approximately $77.5 billion. BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC accounted for the largest share of redemptions, signaling waning institutional appetite.

Compounding the ETF pressure, over $1 billion in crypto positions were liquidated in the 24 hours ending June 25, per Crypto Briefing data, affecting roughly 178,000 traders. Major corporate holders also added to selling pressure: Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) sold approximately 2,500 BTC during the week, while Bitdeer Technologies liquidated its entire Bitcoin treasury of 253.9 BTC, maintaining a zero-holding policy as it pivots to AI data center infrastructure.

Geopolitical tensions between Iran and Israel further rattled risk assets, with Bitcoin’s correlation to the Nasdaq 100 climbing to 0.72 — its highest level since March 2024. The Fear & Greed Index on Alternative.me plummeted to 13 (extreme fear), down from 49 (neutral) just two weeks earlier.

Why It Matters

The breach of $60,000 carries significance beyond a single price level. The 200-week simple moving average near $58,000 — a historically critical support level that has marked cycle bottoms in 2015, 2019, and 2022 — now looms as the next line of defense. Galaxy Digital’s research head noted that a decisive break below this moving average could trigger mechanical selling from systematic strategies, potentially deepening the correction toward $52,000–$55,000.

For traditional markets, Bitcoin’s decline signals a broader unwinding of the “debasement trade” — the bet that scarce assets (Bitcoin, gold, silver) would outperform fiat currencies amid fiscal expansion. CoinDesk reported that all three assets tumbled in tandem this week, with gold falling 4.3% and silver 5.1%, while the S&P 500 held near record highs. This divergence suggests capital is rotating from inflation hedges toward AI-driven equity growth.

Institutional participation has also altered Bitcoin’s volatility profile. As OranjeBTC’s Sam Callahan observed, Bitcoin’s investor base is now larger, more liquid, and more institutionalized than in previous cycles, resulting in declining volatility on both the upside and downside. This structural shift may limit the severity of drawdowns but also cap the velocity of recoveries.

What’s Next

Technical analysts are closely monitoring the $58,000–$59,000 zone. The 200-week SMA at $58,000 coincides with the 50-week exponential moving average, creating a confluence that has historically attracted buyers. However, 10x Research warns that a sustained close below $58,000 could open the door to $55,000 before a meaningful bounce materializes.

On the flow front, the end of the 13-day ETF outflow streak on June 5 — when spot funds recorded a $3.05 million net inflow — offers a tentative signal of stabilization. Whether this marks a genuine turning point or a brief pause depends on macroeconomic data, particularly the Federal Reserve’s rate trajectory and the resolution of Middle East tensions.

Ethereum and major altcoins have mirrored Bitcoin’s decline, with ETH down 5.6% to $1,555, XRP down 4.9% to $1.03, and Dogecoin down 3.8% to $0.074 over the same period. The total crypto market capitalization has contracted by approximately $90 billion since the selloff began, per CoinGecko data.

August 2026 Update: USD 58K Support Held — Bitcoin Reclaims USD 63K-65K in July

The worst-case path did not materialize. Bitcoin never closed below the 200-week moving average; the USD 58,000-59,000 zone attracted buyers exactly as the historical pattern suggested. The ETF outflow streak finally broke on July 3 with a USD 221 million single-day net inflow — the largest in about two months, per Yahoo Finance — and July closed as the crypto market's best month in a year, per CoinDesk, with BTC finishing July 31 near USD 63,700 (Investing.com).

Flows remain the weak link. Late July brought four straight days of ETF outflows totaling USD 526 million after Bitcoin was rejected at USD 65,000, per Bitcoin Foundation data, and year-to-date net outflows across US spot Bitcoin ETFs stand near USD 5.4 billion (Investing.com). The Fear & Greed Index, at 13 when this article published, recovered to a neutral 48 by August 1 (CFGI).

Strategy's sale turned out bigger than first reported. The company sold USD 216 million of Bitcoin at about USD 60,000 per coin in early July to fund a USD 1.25 billion stock buyback — detailed in our Strategy MSTR buyback report — and now holds roughly 846,000 BTC. Related: Bitcoin Tests USD 59K: ETFs Shed USD 692M Ahead of Options Expiry.

Further reading: Ether XRP Dogecoin Lead Crypto Selloff, MicroStrategy Stock Plunges 9%, Bitcoin Below $60K: Extreme Fear Grips Crypto Markets, Bitcoin Below $59K: Crypto Market Cap Sheds $90B, CLARITY Act Money Laundering Gaps, Bitcoin Slides to $62,300, Grant Cardone Buys Cardone Buys 282 BTC