The price of bitcoin has slipped below the $60,000 mark, hitting its lowest level since October 2024. On Wednesday, the largest cryptocurrency dropped by as much as 5 percent at times, to around $59,000, before recovering somewhat to just above $60,000. Bitcoin is now down roughly a third since the start of the year; from its all-time high of just over $126,000 last October, the price has fallen about 53 percent. The $60,000 level had been viewed as an important support line for much of the past two years.

No Single Trigger, but a Convergence of Factors

There is no single event behind the decline, but rather a pile-up of bad news. At the center is a shift in interest-rate expectations: rising oil prices, fueled by tensions between the US and Iran, have reignited inflation fears. Several officials at the US Federal Reserve have consequently walked back any talk of rate cuts, with some even floating the possibility of rate hikes. Higher rates typically weigh on riskier assets, as investors question stretched valuations and rotate into safer holdings.

At the same time, equity markets came under pressure. Wall Street was heading for a three-day losing streak, with the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite both retreating on Wednesday. In Asia, chip stocks such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix also lost ground. Because crypto assets have largely moved in lockstep with tech stocks in recent years, the sell-off fed straight through to bitcoin.

Adding to the pressure were outflows from US spot Bitcoin ETFs. Over several recent trading days investors pulled money out on a net basis — roughly $113.8 million on one day, with BlackRock’s IBIT accounting for the largest outflows at around $182 million. On June 23, the picture turned for the first time: the products recorded about $39.2 million in net inflows, led by ARK 21Shares’ ARKB.

The Link to AI Stocks

Notably, the usually tight coupling between crypto and equities has been loosening of late. Bitcoin and solana are down around 32 and 47 percent respectively this year — and have failed to recover even when stock markets rallied in the interim. A key reason: retail investors in particular are pulling capital out of cryptocurrencies and instead betting on the volatility surrounding AI stocks and major IPOs.

Gerry O’Shea, head of global market insights at crypto asset manager Hashdex, sums up the situation by saying sentiment remains weak because high-profile public offerings and AI stocks are commanding attention. Indeed, US capital markets are currently digesting the largest IPO ever — that of SpaceX, which listed on the Nasdaq earlier this month. Further heavyweights from the AI sector, including OpenAI and Anthropic, are expected to follow. Adding to the uncertainty in the crypto market is the fact that the so-called Clarity Act — a central piece of US legislation governing digital assets — is stuck in the Senate. Banks are mounting opposition, and a bipartisan majority remains out of reach for now.

What’s Happening to Strategy’s Stock

Particular attention is focused on the role of Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), long a symbol of the “never sell” conviction among companies that hold bitcoin as a reserve. The fact that the company sold 32 BTC between May 26 and 31 was read by the market as an unsettling signal. At the same time, however, Strategy bought 520 BTC this week for around $35 million, and Strive Asset Management also stepped in with 759 BTC at an average price of roughly $65,850 — deliberate institutional bids placed into a falling market.

On the stock exchange, the weakness is nonetheless clearly reflected: Strategy’s shares recently fell to a two-year low. Because the company’s stock is heavily tied to bitcoin’s performance and to the premium on its own crypto holdings, it is hit disproportionately hard by the sell-off.

Outlook: Bottom or Way Station?

Whether the $59,000 level marks a turning point is disputed. Geoffrey Kendrick, head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered, sees that level as the definitive cycle bottom and is sticking to a year-end target of $100,000 — which would imply around 70 percent upside. He ties this to three conditions: returning ETF inflows, fresh corporate purchases, and falling oil prices as geopolitical tensions ease. On-chain data also show that roughly half of all bitcoin holdings are now underwater — a threshold that has often marked a floor in previous cycles.

Other market watchers remain skeptical: as long as no clear catalysts are in sight, the period of weakness could persist.

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