Bitcoin
This page lists the latest Bitcoin news and market analysis. Browse articles, expert insights, and updates in this category on JrKripto. Stay informed with in-depth coverage of cryptocurrency trends and developments.
News
Bitcoin News
Bitcoin News
Browse all Bitcoin related articles and news. The latest news, analysis, and insights on Bitcoin.
U.S. Producer Inflation Hits 3.5-Year High: How Did Bitcoin and Altcoins React?
Producer price inflation in the United States rose more than expected in May, reaching its highest level since November 2022. While the increase in energy prices triggered by the Iran war deepened inflationary pressures, uncertainty over the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy continues to keep markets cautious. Crypto markets, meanwhile, are moving sideways without establishing a clear direction.PPI Data Came in Above ExpectationsAccording to data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on June 11, the Producer Price Index (PPI) rose 1.1% on a monthly basis in May. Market expectations were for a 0.7% increase, while the previous month’s figure had been recorded at 1.4%. On an annual basis, PPI reached 6.5%, exceeding forecasts of 6.4% and surpassing April’s 6.0% reading.Core PPI, which excludes energy and food prices, painted a more moderate picture. The core index rose 0.4% month-on-month, below expectations of 0.5%, while the annual reading came in at 4.9%, significantly missing the 5.4% forecast. According to data cited by The Kobeissi Letter, headline PPI has returned to levels last seen during the period when pandemic-era stimulus packages were being injected into markets.Consumer price inflation, released a day earlier, had also recorded its fastest increase in three years, although core CPI had come in below expectations. The PPI figures largely confirm that picture: overall price pressures remain strong, while non-energy components are relatively more controlled.The Iran War Is at the Center of the EquationThe key variable markets are now focused on is the impact of the U.S.-Iran military tensions on oil prices. As the conflict environment continues, crude oil prices are being pushed higher, feeding energy-driven inflation and pushing back expectations for the Fed’s rate-cut timeline. Since PPI is one of the indicators the central bank closely monitors when making interest rate decisions, the stronger-than-expected reading reinforced the market view that the Fed may keep policy tight for longer.Expectations for a Fed rate cut this year had already weakened considerably; with the latest data, those expectations declined further. Futures pricing shows that most investors do not expect any rate cut before the September meeting at the earliest.Bitcoin Holds Near $62,000 as Markets Move SidewaysIn this environment of deepening macro uncertainty, crypto markets are also struggling to find a clear direction. Bitcoin has been stuck in the $61,000 to $63,000 range after weeks of sharp declines. Around the time the data was released, BTC was trading at $62,719, up 1.77% over the past 24 hours. Its 24-hour trading range stood between $61,101 and $63,139, while its market capitalization was around $1.25 trillion. Major altcoins showed a similarly cautious performance. Ethereum remained almost flat at $1,643 after rising 0.17% over the past day, while BNB gained 1.75% to trade near $597. XRP, Solana and Dogecoin have yet to recover their weekly losses in the 5% to 7% range. Hyperliquid (HYPE) stood out among the weaker performers, falling 17.57% over the past seven days.All Eyes on the June Fed MeetingAnalysts are now focused on the Fed’s June meeting. The fact that both CPI and PPI surprised markets in the same week strengthens the central bank’s case for maintaining a tight monetary policy stance. This picture is likely to extend pressure on risk assets, and crypto markets are not immune to that process.
BlackRock’s New Bitcoin ETF: Yield Is Coming to IBIT
BlackRock has submitted its fourth amended filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the proposed iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF. The move has brought the world’s largest asset manager back into the spotlight. The official registration statement filed with the SEC includes broad updates on the fund. First made public in January, the ETF combines spot Bitcoin exposure with an income-generating mechanism, aiming to provide investors with regular income.The document describes the fund’s objective as follows: “The Trust’s objective is to reflect generally the performance of the price of Bitcoin while seeking to provide premium income through an actively managed strategy that consists primarily of writing (selling) call options on IBIT Shares and, from time to time, ETP Indices.”Fee structure and Nasdaq listingThe fourth amendment also revealed that the fund will charge a sponsor fee of 0.65%. As stated in previous filings, the ETF is expected to trade on Nasdaq under the ticker BITA.Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said he found the fee level notable. The rate is lower than those charged by the two largest Bitcoin ETFs using a covered call strategy, most likely YBTC and BTCI. These two funds charge fees of 0.95% and 0.99%, respectively.Competition with Goldman SachsBalchunas believes the fund’s launch could be near. “My guess is this thing is going to launch very soon,” the analyst said, adding that BlackRock is facing competitive pressure. Goldman Sachs has filed for a Bitcoin ETF that invests in other Bitcoin ETFs, and that fund is expected to go live around July 1. According to Balchunas, “game on.”BlackRock’s Nasdaq-listed iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) is currently the world’s largest spot Bitcoin fund, with approximately $47.21 billion in net assets. The company’s new ETF is seen as part of a broader strategy to add an income layer to its existing IBIT exposure.What is a covered call strategy?The covered call strategy at the center of the ETF is based on selling call options against assets already held by the fund. This allows investors to generate periodic premium income regardless of broader market conditions. The strategy has long been used in traditional equity markets, but applying it to highly volatile assets such as Bitcoin is a relatively new development.BlackRock’s plan to generate income through written options on IBIT shares and ETP indices offers an important example of how institutional investors can seek returns from crypto assets without relying solely on price appreciation. This approach could be especially attractive for large institutional funds looking for steady income.The fund’s application is still awaiting SEC approval. Once the approval process is completed, BITA will become one of the rare products offering institutional investors both Bitcoin exposure and an income objective in a single vehicle.
U.S. Inflation Hits 3-Year High as Bitcoin Comes Under Pressure
Consumer prices in the United States rose 4.2% year-over-year in May, marking the highest inflation rate recorded since 2023. The data arrived at an already complicated moment for the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy outlook and further strengthened expectations that at least one rate hike could come before the end of the year. Crypto markets responded cautiously to the figures.Inflation matched expectations, but the picture is not comfortingAccording to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 4.2% in May compared with the same period last year. The result was in line with economists’ expectations and confirmed a third consecutive month of accelerating inflation. On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.5%, with energy costs serving as the main driver of the increase.Core inflation, which excludes volatile items such as food and energy, came in at 2.9% annually, also matching expectations. Monthly core inflation stood at 0.2%, slightly below the market forecast of 0.3%. Investors interpreted this limited easing as a small positive signal, though it did not change the broader picture.Behind the increase is the renewed escalation in tensions between the U.S. and Iran. The conflict has tightened global oil supply, increased pressure on energy prices and effectively disrupted the Fed’s years-long effort to bring inflation back down to 2%.The Fed’s path has narrowed furtherThe reading is the first major inflation data released under Fed Chair Kevin Warsh. His predecessor, Jerome Powell, had resisted repeated pressure from the Trump administration to cut interest rates. The central bank kept its policy rate steady in the 3.5% to 3.75% range throughout 2026. Signals under Warsh, however, point in a different direction. According to CME FedWatch data, markets are now pricing in at least one rate hike by year-end. At the start of the year, the dominant scenario was based on three rate cuts.Iggy Ioppe, chief investment officer at Theya, summarized the situation as follows: “For Bitcoin, an inflation print that matches expectations is not a clean catalyst. It keeps liquidity expectations under pressure and means risk assets will continue trading around positioning, rather than a fresh dovish impulse.”The impact of interest rate pressure on crypto is direct. As rates rise, cash and U.S. Treasuries become more attractive due to their yields. Non-yielding assets such as Bitcoin and gold, meanwhile, lose some of their appeal.Bitcoin attempts to recoverAt the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $61,295, as shown on the chart, down 2.19% over the past 24 hours. After the inflation data was released, the price climbed from $61,000 to around $61,750, then held near the $62,000 range. The recovery is part of a broader rebound that has continued since last Friday’s selloff, which was triggered by strong employment data. The weekly picture remains more severe. BTC has fallen 8.67% over the past seven days. Its 30-day loss has reached 24.35%, leaving the market divided over whether the current rebound is a real breakout or only temporary relief.Ethereum rose to $1,650, XRP to $1.12 and Solana to $65. XRP remained down 1.6% on a 24-hour basis, while Ethereum and Solana turned positive.
Bitcoin-Based Platform Is Shutting Down: Four-Year Effort Comes to an End
Botanix Labs is shutting down its Layer 2 network, developed for a Bitcoin-based decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. After nearly four years of work, the project is winding down operations, citing insufficient demand. Users have been urged to withdraw their assets by July 9.“Honest answer: It didn’t work”Botanix announced the shutdown decision on X. The project’s core idea was to build an application layer on Bitcoin without relying on native token incentives or inflation. However, organic transaction demand was not enough to cover infrastructure costs. The team’s official statement was unusually direct: “The honest answer we arrived at after living inside this every day is: it didn’t work in this market, at this time.” From a technical perspective, it would be difficult to call Botanix a failure. Its Spiderchain infrastructure maintained 100% uptime during one year of mainnet operations and did not suffer a single security breach. The network processed 25 million transactions across 200,000 wallets and transferred tens of millions of dollars worth of assets. The project also launched Dynafed, a mechanism that transformed a static multisig set into a rotating decentralized system. It secured integrations with names such as Chainlink, Morpho and OKX Wallet. The problem was not technical. The problem was how users viewed Bitcoin.Few people used Bitcoin for DeFiThe team shared five key lessons from the shutdown process. The first was clear: for the vast majority of users, Bitcoin remains primarily a store of value. Using Bitcoin for high-frequency transactions or participating in DeFi protocols is not part of the broader user base’s habits.The team also emphasized that demand for Bitcoin-based DeFi is largely being met through wrapped Bitcoin on Ethereum-based networks. In other words, people who want Bitcoin-linked DeFi are already accessing it through other routes.The statement also noted that token launches have generally underperformed expectations. At a time when decentralization has taken a back seat, users have been moving toward centralized exchanges, platforms such as Robinhood and Hyperliquid, and traditional financial institutions. According to Botanix, convenience and institutional access are taking priority over decentralization.The Bitcoin L2 question remains unansweredBotanix’s shutdown adds more weight to an ongoing debate in the sector: can Bitcoin Layer 2 projects outside the Lightning Network become self-sustaining without token incentives? There is still no clear answer to that question. But Botanix has at least provided an answer based on its own experience.July 9 is the deadlineBotanix reminded users that they must withdraw their bitcoin and other assets by July 9 at the latest. After that date, any remaining funds on the network will be collected by the federation.
Bitcoin and Ethereum Saw the Week’s Expected Purchases
In a week marked by a sharp downturn in crypto markets, two major corporate treasury companies continued to buy. Bitmine and Strategy both expanded their positions despite price pressure, though with different preferences: one is buying Ethereum at record speed, while the other is maintaining a more measured but steady pace in Bitcoin.Bitmine made its biggest weekly purchase of the yearBitmine bought 126,971 ETH last week. At current prices, the purchase is worth about $214 million, making it the company’s largest weekly transaction of 2026. The figure stood at only 26,497 ETH a week earlier, showing how sharply the pace increased.The company’s total ETH holdings have now reached 5.54 million. When 247 million dollars in cash, a small amount of Bitcoin, and investment stakes in Beast Industries and Eightco Holdings are added, the total portfolio value reaches 9.9 billion dollars.What makes this interesting is that Bitmine Chairman Thomas Lee had said a few weeks ago that the company would slow its pace of purchases. The reason made sense; the company was approaching its goal of holding 5 percent of ETH’s total supply. That figure now stands at 4.59 percent, meaning the target has almost been reached. But the market downturn appears to have changed the plan.Lee said this week: “We increased our purchases because we believe this pullback in ETH prices does not reflect Ethereum’s strengthening fundamentals.”Given this approach, Bitmine really stands in a different place among crypto treasury companies. Many rivals have either paused their purchases or sold altogether as prices have fallen sharply since October. Bitmine is doing the opposite. No one knows how this will end; the company’s current paper loss is estimated at around 9.6 billion dollars. ETH has lost more than 65 percent of its value since its record high in August and has fallen to its lowest levels in the past year.The company also announced that it will issue a class of preferred shares paying a 9.5 percent dividend to raise additional financing. This is a model long used by Bitcoin-focused Strategy. However, Strategy’s own version of this model is now being questioned by investors. The company’s latest preferred share class, STRC, fell to 90 dollars as of last Friday, 10 percent below its nominal value. Whether dividend obligations can be met is now being debated.Strategy bought another 1,550 BTCMeanwhile, Strategy did not remain inactive either. The company bought 1,550 Bitcoin for approximately 101 million dollars. With this purchase, its total Bitcoin reserve rose to 845,256 BTC. The timing of the purchase is notable. Last week, Bitcoin fell by around 15 percent and briefly dropped below 60,000 dollars. It later recovered and moved above 62,000 dollars, but the loss was still there. On top of that, a filing surfaced showing that Michael Saylor sold 32 BTC on June 1, adding further pressure to an already tense market.Strategy made this purchase at an average price of 65,332 dollars. Since the company’s all-time average purchase cost is still 75,680 dollars, the transaction can be seen as a move to lower its cost basis. To finance the purchase, the company sold 181 million dollars worth of stock during the period. Its cash reserve also increased by 100 million dollars, reaching 1 billion dollars.Two different approaches, the same uncertaintyBitmine and Strategy represent two different versions of the corporate crypto treasury model. One is aggressively accumulating ETH with a target of holding 5 percent of the supply; the other is adding Bitcoin at a more measured but consistent rhythm. Both are positioning themselves against the broader market trend.It is hard to say which one will be proven right. Bitmine’s paper loss has reached enormous levels, while Strategy’s dividend model is being closely watched by investors. If markets recover, these two companies may be remembered as the boldest institutional investors of the period. If they do not, the picture will clearly be read differently.
Bitcoin Short Squeeze: $628 Million Liquidated in 24 Hours
Bitcoin recovered rapidly from last week’s lows, leaving traders who held bearish positions with a heavy bill. Over the past 24 hours, total liquidations in the crypto market reached $628 million, with short sellers taking the biggest hit.According to CoinGlass data, 24-hour liquidations climbed to $628,228,992. Of this amount, $467,178,624 came from short positions, while $161,050,368 came from long positions. In other words, roughly $3 out of every $4 liquidated in the market came from traders betting that prices would fall rather than rise.Short pressure was clear across all time framesThe short-heavy liquidation trend was not limited to the 24-hour window. In the past 12 hours, total liquidations reached $465,558,784; $372,190,304 of this came from short positions. In this 12-hour period, short dominance rose to 79.94%, showing that the pressure in the market was heavily one-sided. The picture was similar across shorter time frames. In the past 4 hours, $41,182,392 in positions were liquidated; $8,550,451 came from long positions, while $32,631,944 came from shorts. In the past 1 hour, liquidations totaled $4,292,815: $872,547 on the long side and $3,420,268 on the short side.When viewed through the 12-hour liquidation filter, total liquidations stood at $463,325,632. Of this, $91,495,688 came from long positions and $371,829,920 from shorts. Short dominance reached 80.25% in this window.What happened?Bitcoin fell by roughly 14% last week and briefly tested levels below $60,000. Several factors weighed on the market at the same time: Strategy selling Bitcoin for the first time since 2022, a sharp correction in AI stocks, and record outflows from spot Bitcoin ETFs.Many traders assumed the decline would continue and opened short positions near the bottom. They were wrong. Bitcoin climbed as high as $63,800 over the weekend; this sudden reversal triggered automatic liquidations among traders carrying leveraged short positions. A single Bitcoin futures position on OKX, worth $12.3 million, became the largest individual liquidation of this process.Total liquidations approached $655 million, affecting more than 104,000 traders. Bitcoin positions led with $315 million in liquidations, followed by ETH positions at $201 million.Recovery loses momentumAfter rising to $63,700 on Monday morning, Bitcoin pulled back again. Renewed tensions between Iran and Israel pushed oil prices up by more than 3% and rattled Asian stock markets; South Korea’s KOSPI index fell by nearly 7% in a single day. Against this backdrop, Bitcoin slipped to around $62,900. This is still well above last week’s lowest point, but the market does not yet appear to be standing on firm ground.In the coming days, the release of U.S. inflation data and the possibility of several major IPOs, including SpaceX, remain among the variables that could keep price action volatile.
Bitcoin Falls Below $62,000 After U.S. Jobs Data
May employment figures from the United States came in at nearly twice market expectations, adding further pressure on Bitcoin and the broader crypto market. According to data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Friday, the economy added 172,000 new jobs last month, while economists had expected a figure of around 85,000. The unemployment rate came in at 4.3 percent, in line with expectations.Bitcoin price edges lowerFollowing the report, Bitcoin struggled to hold below the $62,000 level and changed hands around $61,900 during the day. This showed that the crypto market had still failed to recover after the sharp declines seen the previous night. The overall picture was already under pressure; once such a strong employment report was added to the equation, buyers preferred to remain cautious. Why does this data matter so much? Because it carries a stronger message than it may initially seem. Such resilience in the labor market confirms that the Fed is in no hurry to cut interest rates. On the contrary, the stronger-than-expected figures suggest that additional rate hikes may remain on the table this year. The bond market reached the same conclusion: after the report, the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield jumped to 4.52 percent.Crypto was not the only market affected. Nasdaq 100 futures fell 1.2 percent. Crude oil slipped only slightly, while gold lost 1.1 percent and dropped to around $4,400. In an environment where overall risk appetite was narrowing, it was not realistic to expect Bitcoin to break away from the broader market and move higher on its own.Economic indicators show that the U.S. economy continued to surprise markets this week. Both the ISM Manufacturing PMI and the ISM Services PMI came in above expectations, and both remained in expansion territory. Taken together, these figures strengthen the central bank’s position; there is still no urgent need for a rate cut.Although equity markets have followed a different path, some cracks have started to become visible. The S&P 500 has maintained its upward trend for nearly ten weeks and has gained about 10 percent since the start of the year. However, Broadcom’s weaker-than-expected artificial intelligence chip demand forecast in the semiconductor sector slightly dampened the optimism that had built up in that area.Turning back to Bitcoin, the short-term picture remains unclear. The lower end of the 24-hour price range stood at $61,394, while the upper end was $64,353. The technical outlook is weak; a weekly decline of 14.77 percent is not something that can be ignored. The 30-day loss has reached 24.19 percent, showing that the pressure seen since March is still continuing.The macro environment is not creating an easy backdrop for crypto. The continuation of high interest rates limits inflows into risk assets. Every strong employment report strengthens the possibility that the Fed will maintain its tight stance for longer; this remains a factor weighing on assets such as Bitcoin. The market is now trying to hold around $62,000 after pricing in a major break from the upward trend that had been in place since the summer of 2024.The next critical data point will be inflation. Once the consumer price index (CPI) is released, the Fed’s next move will become clearer. If employment remains strong while inflation continues to prove sticky, expectations for rate cuts could be pushed back even further; this would create another headache for crypto and other risk assets.For now, the market is in a cautious waiting mode. Bitcoin is showing neither a clear breakdown signal nor a strong recovery. The $61,000-$62,000 range remains a critical support zone for the time being.
$1.81 Billion in Bitcoin and ETH Options Expire Today
BTC is trading roughly $9,000 below its max pain level as a major options batch expires today following a week marked by heavy liquidations.Deribit, one of the leading exchanges in the crypto derivatives market, announced that around $1.81 billion worth of crypto options contracts will expire today at 11:00 a.m. Turkey time. Coming right after a week of sustained selling pressure and more than $1.5 billion in liquidations, this expiry represents a double layer of stress for market participants.BTC options: $1.56 billionMost of the expiring contracts are tied to Bitcoin. The total notional value of BTC options stands at $1.56 billion. The put/call ratio is 0.56, clearly showing a call-heavy structure, with long-position sellers far outpacing the short side. Max pain, the price point where options writers make the lowest payout and the largest number of contracts expire worthless, is at $71,000. BTC spot is currently trading roughly $9,000 below that level. If the expiry closes under these conditions, a large portion of contracts will end out of the money.According to Deribit data, the highest concentration of open interest is at the $80,000 strike price, with $1.6 billion. The short side is not silent either: there is still $1.1 billion in OI at $60,000. Coinglass figures show that total BTC options OI across all exchanges has recently declined to around $31.6 billion.ETH options: $252 millionThe Ethereum side presents a slightly different picture. Around 153,500 contracts will expire today, with a notional value of $252 million. Max pain stands at $2,000, while the put/call ratio is 0.97, almost perfectly neutral. On the ETH side, neither bulls nor bears have established a clear advantage. Total ETH options OI across all exchanges is hovering around $5.7 billion.After a bloody weekThis expiry comes at the end of an extremely painful week for the crypto market. More than $300 billion was wiped from the market’s total value over the week. Bitcoin briefly fell below $62,000, while $1.5 billion in liquidations left both long and short position holders with heavy losses.Derivatives analytics platform Greeks Live said that bears became more aggressive after the price broke below $70,000, with a notable increase in put positions at the $68,000, $65,000 and $60,000 levels.Geopolitical tensions continue to add pressure. The military conflict between the United States and Iran has not been resolved in recent weeks, while global inflationary pressures have started to resurface. In this environment, risk appetite remains fragile, and institutional investors are keeping their hedging positions in place.Market impactAlthough the figure sounds large, analysts describe this expiry as a “relatively small event.” The $1.85 billion volume, which is far below last week’s month-end expiry package, is not expected to trigger a significant move in spot markets.Still, BTC spot trading this far below the max pain level cannot be ignored. During expiry periods, prices are often seen moving toward max pain. Whether that dynamic plays out this week will become clear within the next few hours.
Standard Chartered Bitcoin Comment: Bottom Is Near, Year-End Target Remains Unchanged
Geoffrey Kendrick, head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered, said the Bitcoin market is approaching a bottom. Kendrick argued that spot ETF buying has remained more resilient than he expected and that Strategy could buy far more than the amount it sold last week.In February, Kendrick had predicted that Bitcoin could fall to $50,000. He now says the market is in a “buying zone.” At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $63,000, having lost 22 percent of its value over the past month. In a note dated February 12, Kendrick warned of a “painful and final capitulation” for digital assets, lowering his short-term Bitcoin target to $50,000 and his Ethereum target to $1,400.The key factor behind his change in view is the shift in spot Bitcoin ETF behavior. In February, Kendrick believed that sharp selling from ETFs could create significant downside risk. That scenario did not play out. ETF holdings rose from 682,000 Bitcoin at the time to a peak, then fell back to around 674,000 Bitcoin. In other words, the net change over that period was almost zero. Kendrick interpreted this as follows: “This shows me that ETF holdings are structurally stronger than I feared in February.”According to the analyst, this is not the only thing that has changed. The broader market behavior is also notable. Bitcoin has clearly diverged from equities this year in terms of correlation. This suggests that most open long positions were already liquidated during previous waves of volatility, meaning potential downside pressure may now be more limited.The Strategy FactorThe direct trigger behind the weekly selling pressure was Strategy. The company sold 32 Bitcoin last week. Kendrick described the timing as “unfortunate” and acknowledged that the move played directly into the hands of Bitcoin skeptics.Kendrick’s reading, based on historical precedent, is as follows: Strategy last sold Bitcoin on December 22, 2022, when it offloaded 704 BTC for tax optimization purposes. Just two days later, it bought back 810 BTC. The analyst thinks the buyback could be much larger this time, with the possibility of a purchase of around 320 Bitcoin, or 10 times the amount sold, or around 3,200 Bitcoin, equal to 100 times the sale.According to Kendrick, such a purchase would be a strong signal confirming the bottom.This week, roughly $1.5 billion in liquidations took place in the futures market. Kendrick compared this figure with the liquidation waves seen between January 29-31 and February 3-6, noting that they were similar in size. In other words, this was not an extraordinary development.The analyst also admits that there is still a lasting risk below $60,000. However, the current picture makes that risk look relatively limited. Bitcoin’s low correlation with equity markets since the beginning of the year suggests that opportunistic leveraged positions have largely been cleared out.The note ends with the following sentence: “There are a lot of ‘ifs’ in the above, so rather than trying to call the bottom with certainty, an accumulation strategy makes more sense.”Year-End Targets Remain UnchangedKendrick is maintaining his targets of $100,000 for Bitcoin and $4,000 for ETH. Last month, he compared ETH’s price action to Amazon’s stock performance during the dot-com era. At the time, Standard Chartered analysts also argued that on-chain metrics would eventually be reflected in price.In his note to clients, Kendrick summarized this week with the following words: “This has been a tough week for crypto; there is no other way to say it. But when we look back from a point where BTC is at $100,000 and ETH is at $4,000 by the end of 2026, I think we will say this was the buying zone everyone had been waiting for.”
Bitcoin Drop Triggers $1.7 Billion in Liquidations
Bitcoin is trading at $62,885 today. BTC has lost 14.28 percent over the past seven days, pointing to a sharp decline in institutional demand since its January peak of $80,000.Coinbase premium falls to February levelsThe signal troubling the market most is coming from the Coinbase Premium Index. The index measures the price difference between BTC on Coinbase and Binance. That gap has now fallen to minus 0.19, its lowest level since the sudden sell-off seen in February.This may look like a simple technical indicator, but it carries broader meaning. Coinbase is mostly used by U.S.-based institutional investors. Such a negative premium suggests that American buyers are far more cautious than offshore investors.ETF bleeding reaches 13 daysU.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs confirm the same picture. According to SoSoValue data, the funds have recorded net outflows for 13 consecutive trading days since mid-May, with total losses reaching $4.37 billion during this period. Total net assets fell from $104.29 billion on May 15 to $82.83 billion, marking a $21.46 billion drop in roughly three weeks.Most of the bleeding came from movements in two funds. BlackRock’s IBIT saw $342.34 million in outflows in a single day. Fidelity’s FBTC lost another $54.26 million on the same day. Alongside the decline in BTC price, the two funds fell by 2.76 percent and 2.65 percent, respectively.The crash spreads to altcoin ETFsFor a while, altcoin ETFs had been drawing small but steady inflows thanks to retail investor interest. That picture has now changed. Ethereum ETFs recorded $52.94 million in outflows in a single day, with the largest share coming from BlackRock’s ETHA fund at $51.58 million. Solana funds saw $12.74 million in net outflows, while XRP funds lost $5.34 million.At this point, there is almost no category left in the market showing net inflows. The only exception is ETFs tied to the Hyperliquid token, HYPE. 21Shares’ THYP fund managed to attract $2.99 million on the same day and has accumulated $139.51 million since its launch on May 12.Grayscale also launched its own Hyperliquid product, HYPG, on the same day. The fund stands out with a lower expense ratio than its competitors, but its launch came precisely on a day when almost every other crypto ETF category was seeing outflows.Liquidation data confirms the pressureThe futures market is pointing in the same direction. Over the past 24 hours, total liquidations across the crypto market reached $1.71 billion. Long positions accounted for 85.95 percent of this liquidation wave, meaning that most of the losses came from investors betting on higher prices. Over the past 12 hours, the share stood at 85.51 percent. Long-position liquidations alone reached $1.47 billion over 24 hours. This data shows that the price decline was not only the result of weaker demand. Forced closures of leveraged long positions also intensified the selling pressure.Citi says ETF flows explain BTC price movesIn a note sent to clients last Tuesday, Citi said spot Bitcoin ETF flows explain roughly 45 percent of weekly BTC price movements. The bank expects investor sentiment to remain under pressure as long as ETF flows stay negative and U.S. crypto market structure legislation remains stalled in Congress.From a technical perspective, Bitcoin’s 24-hour trading range stands between $61,557 and $67,327. BTC traded above $80,000 at the beginning of May and has since lost more than 20 percent.The main concern in the market is not retail investor fear at this stage. It is the speed at which institutional players are pulling back.
U.S. Releases Two Key Data Sets as Crypto Markets Stay Cautious
Bitcoin and major altcoins traded under broad selling pressure on Wednesday. BTC was down 2.75% on the day at $66,809, while Ethereum fell 5.49%. Solana dropped 5.31% and BNB lost 6.11%, making them some of the notable decliners during the mid-session. The U.S. macro data released during the day did not directly create this picture; markets were already under pressure. However, the figures also failed to strengthen the case for a recovery. According to ADP’s May private-sector employment report released on Wednesday, the U.S. economy added 122,000 new jobs last month. Economists surveyed by Reuters had expected 117,000, while April’s figure was revised down from 109,000 to 105,000. The number came in above expectations, but analysts avoided reading it as a sign of a strengthening labor market.The sectoral breakdown offers a clearer picture of the increase. Education and health services accounted for nearly half of the growth alone, adding 57,000 new positions. Trade, transportation and utilities recorded an increase of 36,000. Meanwhile, the information technology sector and natural resources and mining saw net job losses.Samuel Tombs, chief U.S. economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said the current picture does not provide convincing evidence that the labor market is regaining momentum. Hiring intention indexes from NFIB and regional Fed surveys, along with the Conference Board’s job availability index, have weakened noticeably in recent months. The ADP report has historically been weak at predicting Friday’s BLS data, which limits its guiding impact on markets.Indeed, the main focus is now on Friday. Economists expect nonfarm payroll growth to slow to 85,000 in May after April’s 115,000 increase. The unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 4.3%.Behind this picture is a labor market that was shaken last year by tariff-related uncertainty, a process that has largely been absorbed. However, the conflict involving the U.S., Israel and Iran is pushing commodity prices higher, while inflation pressure continues. In April, inflation recorded its fastest increase in three years. Against this backdrop, the market broadly expects the Fed to keep interest rates in the 3.50%–3.75% range and continue monitoring developments.The JOLTS report released on Tuesday showed an increase in job openings in April, but that increase was concentrated in a single sector. Hiring declined, while layoffs also fell. This suggests that April’s relatively strong employment gain was driven not by new hiring, but by a low layoff rate.PMI Data Also ReleasedThe picture on the PMI side was even more mixed. According to S&P Global’s May data, the U.S. Composite PMI came in at 51.5, below the expected 51.7. The Services PMI fell to 50.7, while the previous reading and market expectation stood at 50.9. Both indexes remained above the 50 threshold that separates expansion from contraction, meaning growth technically continued. However, momentum kept weakening.For crypto markets, this macro picture did not act as a direct trigger. Bitcoin was already trading 2.75% lower when the data arrived. Solana’s 10.38% weekly gain and Hyperliquid’s 19.76% weekly rise also show how mixed the broader picture remains. Weaker PMI data and a below-forecast services reading do not support risk appetite, while expectations that the Fed will not rush into rate cuts this year continue to act as a background factor behind ongoing fund outflows from crypto.
Bitcoin Falls Sharply as Institutional Outflows Extend to 12th Day
Bitcoin fell as low as $65,700 on Tuesday night. This marked one of the sharpest intraday drops seen in recent weeks. Although the asset recovered to around $66,900 shortly afterward, the broader question remains: Is this decline the beginning of a longer period of pressure?The broader picture in the crypto marketBitcoin’s pullback also triggered steep losses across other major cryptocurrencies. Ethereum dropped 5 percent to $1,872, while BNB fell 6 percent to $641. XRP lost 2 percent, and Solana declined 5 percent. ETF outflows mark a 12-day negative streakThe main data point deepening the selling pressure came from the ETF side. According to SoSoValue data, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $519.2 million in net outflows on Tuesday. This also marked the 12th consecutive day of negative flows. Spot Ethereum ETFs also extended their uninterrupted outflow streak to 16 days, with $90.2 million in withdrawals.Twelve consecutive days of outflows indicate that institutional investors are currently acting with significant caution in the market.Zeus Research analyst Dominick John said three key factors were behind the decline: heavy outflows from institutional ETFs, aggressive long-position liquidations, and a broader macro shift toward risk aversion. According to John, “the forced unwinding of leveraged positions accelerated downward pressure on major assets.”Middle East tensions weaken risk appetiteAndri Fauzan Adziima, research director at the Bitrue Research Institute, said the latest airstrikes in the Middle East pushed oil prices higher and significantly weakened risk appetite. According to Adziima, this development “triggered large-scale long liquidations, accelerated ETF outflows, and showed Bitcoin behaving more like a high-risk asset than a safe-haven instrument.”Oil markets indeed saw a notable move. WTI crude futures rose 1.13 percent to $94.82, while Brent crude climbed 1.04 percent to $97.07. When oil reaches these levels, the environment is rarely favorable for crypto.Asian equities followed a mixed course. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index hit a record high after rising 2.95 percent midway through the session. China’s CSI 300 index gained 1.13 percent. However, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.56 percent.Strategy’s Bitcoin sale did not go unnoticedAlongside geopolitical tensions, there was another issue markets were trying to digest: Strategy’s Bitcoin sale.The company told the SEC that it sold 32 BTC for approximately $2.5 million between May 26 and May 31. This marked the first Bitcoin sale by the Michael Saylor-led firm since December 2022.Peter Chung, head of research at Presto Research, drew attention to the sale’s psychological impact on the market. “Those looking for a BTC-specific narrative to explain Bitcoin’s weak 24-hour performance will inevitably point to MSTR’s sale of 32 BTC,” Chung said. However, he does not see this as a sufficient explanation. In his view, the real breakdown began a few weeks earlier and was most likely driven by selling pressure created to fund rotational buying into AI-themed equities.Saylor had described the sale as an “inoculation.” Whether this small-scale move will be seen as a smart defensive maneuver or the final straw for an already impatient market depends largely on how investors position the sale, according to Chung.Strategy’s Nasdaq-listed shares closed Tuesday at $136.08, down 9.15 percent. The company’s stock has lost roughly 23 percent over the past month.
Strive Buys the Dip: Company Adds $185 Million Worth of Bitcoin
Strive, which follows a corporate Bitcoin treasury strategy, turned the latest market pullback into a new buying opportunity. The company announced that it purchased 2,500 Bitcoin for approximately $185.2 million. According to Strive’s 8-K filing, the acquisition was made at an average price of $74,092 per Bitcoin. With the latest transaction, the company’s total Bitcoin holdings rose to 19,000 BTC.The purchase came at a time when Bitcoin’s price has been under pressure in recent days. According to market data, Bitcoin fell to around $70,800 on Tuesday morning after trading above $74,000 last week. Strive’s latest acquisition was completed at a lower average cost compared to its previous Bitcoin purchase announced on May 22. At that time, the company had bought 1,109 BTC at an average price of $76,989 per Bitcoin.Strive moves towards top 10This picture suggests that Strive continues to view price pullbacks as part of its long-term treasury strategy. The company’s latest purchase also pushed it further toward the top 10 publicly traded corporate Bitcoin holders. Strive had previously signaled that it would continue its Bitcoin accumulation strategy aggressively and had laid out a long-term target that could reach up to 75,000 BTC. The company was previously reported to be watching large supply opportunities, including potential Mt. Gox-related sales, as part of this strategy.Strive CEO Matt Cole also shared details of the latest purchase in a post on X. Cole stated that the 2,500 BTC was acquired at an average price of $74,092 and that the company’s total position had reached approximately 19,000 BTC. The announcement also included internal performance metrics linked to the company’s Bitcoin strategy. Strive reported a quarter-to-date BTC yield of 23 percent and a year-to-date BTC yield of 36.7 percent.The company also reported an amplification ratio of 57 percent. This metric is followed as an indicator of how much Strive has expanded its Bitcoin position relative to its capital base. In corporate Bitcoin treasury models, such ratios show not only whether companies are making direct purchases, but also how they use their financial structure to increase Bitcoin exposure.At the same time, Strive emphasized that it is not focused solely on aggressive Bitcoin accumulation. The company said it had increased its cash reserves to maintain an 18-month dividend reserve. This move aims to create a more predictable area for shareholder payments despite volatility in Bitcoin’s price. In this way, Strive is trying to strike a more cautious balance in balance sheet management while continuing to expand its Bitcoin position.Strive’s purchase came during a week in which attention in the corporate Bitcoin market had turned to Strategy. Strategy, the largest corporate Bitcoin holder, disclosed on Monday that it had sold 32 BTC. The company generated $2.5 million from the sale, at an average price of $77,135. Although the amount sold was very small compared to its total holdings, the move drew attention because it was Strategy’s first publicly disclosed Bitcoin sale.The development came on top of weakness in Bitcoin and the broader crypto market, increasing pressure on investor sentiment. Some market participants interpreted Strategy’s sale as a symbolic shift, while Strive’s purchase during the same period highlighted a divergence between corporate strategies. On one side was the largest corporate Bitcoin holder making a limited sale; on the other was Strive, using the pullback to increase its position.Strive also received a positive assessment from the analyst side. Benchmark analyst Mark Palmer initiated coverage of Strive on Tuesday with a Buy rating and a $32 price target. This target implies roughly 93 percent upside, even after the company’s Class A shares fell 3.59 percent to $16.58 in pre-market trading.Benchmark’s assessment shows that Strive’s Bitcoin treasury strategy is still seen by the market as a strong growth story. However, the company’s share performance remains directly tied to fluctuations in Bitcoin’s price and investor appetite for the corporate treasury model. For this reason, Strive’s new Bitcoin purchase is being closely watched not only in terms of balance sheet size, but also as an indicator of whether risk appetite in institutional crypto investment remains intact.
Mt. Gox Transfers $739 Million Worth of Bitcoin
Mt. Gox wallets, which have been closely watched by the crypto market for years, have moved again. According to Arkham Intelligence data, the defunct crypto exchange Mt. Gox transferred a total of 10,306 BTC to two different addresses early Tuesday morning. At current market prices, the total value of these transactions is approximately $739 million. The move drew attention because it marked the first major Bitcoin transfer from Mt. Gox-linked wallets since March. Similar large transfers in the past have sometimes taken place before creditor repayments. For that reason, investors have started watching whether the latest transactions could also be linked to a possible distribution process.Did the transfers cause selling pressure?According to Arkham data, Mt. Gox sent 10,306 BTC from its cold wallets to an unmarked address beginning with “14FE…c9eq” at around 7:47 a.m. Turkish time on Tuesday. The transfer was valued at approximately $730.8 million at the time of the transaction. In the same time frame, 116.3 BTC was also moved to the exchange’s hot wallet.About two hours later, another transaction took place at around 9:46 a.m. Mt. Gox-linked wallets transferred 116.3 BTC to another address beginning with “1A4x…QNj4.” The same transaction also included a very small amount of Bitcoin, worth around $1.19, sent to a Bitstamp cold wallet.Arkham currently marks the transferred Bitcoin as “unspent.” This shows that the funds have not yet been moved to any exchange and that there is no clear sign they are being prepared for direct sale. The fact that the receiving address is not associated with a centralized or decentralized exchange was also one of the details that limited the initial panic in the market.Still, the Mt. Gox name continues to carry strong psychological weight in the Bitcoin market. Repayments to the exchange’s creditors have long been tracked as a potential source of selling pressure in the crypto market. In the past, large wallet movements have sometimes been interpreted as a signal that creditor repayments were approaching. However, it is still unclear whether the latest transfers were made within that context.Mt. Gox still holds 34,504 BTC across its wallets. These holdings are currently valued at approximately $2.43 billion. Therefore, while the latest transfer is large, it does not represent the exchange’s entire Bitcoin reserve. From a market perspective, the key question is how much of these assets could be sold on the spot market if they are distributed to creditors.On the other hand, the situation is not being interpreted only through the possibility of direct selling. Mt. Gox claims have recently started attracting interest from institutional investors as well. Strive Asset Management was previously reported to be planning to build a 75,000 BTC treasury by purchasing approved but undistributed Mt. Gox claims. That plan is said to point to a size of around $8 billion.This development suggests that some creditors may prefer to cash out their claims before distribution. In such a scenario, not all Bitcoin would necessarily enter the spot market directly. Institutional buyers taking over these claims could change how potential selling pressure is reflected in the market.Mt. Gox is remembered as one of the most well-known collapses in Bitcoin history. The Tokyo-based exchange handled around 70% of global Bitcoin transactions in 2013. However, after a major security breach in 2014, approximately 850,000 BTC was lost. The company then filed for bankruptcy protection, and the creditor repayment process turned into a complex legal case that has continued for years.The exchange began repaying creditors in July 2024 through partner platforms such as Kraken and Bitstamp. However, the rehabilitation trustee extended the repayment deadline to October 2026 last year. This marked the third postponement since the original deadline of October 31, 2023.
Bitcoin Funds See Record Outflows: 3 Altcoins Hold Firm
Crypto asset investment products saw $1.67 billion in outflows this week. It marked the third consecutive negative week and the second-largest weekly outflow of 2026 so far. Only the week of January 23 was worse.Cumulative outflows over the past three weeks have now reached $4.21 billion. This suggests that the risk-off mood triggered by Iran-related geopolitical tensions has largely overshadowed the positive sentiment created by the CLARITY Act. Total assets under management (AuM) fell from $148 billion last week to $141 billion, the lowest level since early April. The picture resembles the January-February period, when the market saw five consecutive weeks of outflows.Bitcoin records its largest weekly outflow of 2026Bitcoin took the hardest hit this week. The asset saw $1.438 billion in outflows, surpassing both last week’s record and the January peak. Bitcoin’s year-to-date inflows are also shrinking fast: they stood at $3.9 billion two weeks ago, fell to $2.6 billion last week, and dropped to $1.2 billion this week.The picture is not bright for Ethereum either. With $257 million in outflows, the risk-off sentiment has clearly spread to Ethereum as well. Ethereum’s year-to-date flow balance has already turned negative, standing at minus $346 million.Regional breakdown: The US still leadsLooking at the regional distribution, almost all of the global outflows came from the United States, which accounted for $1.63 billion alone. Germany, which had remained relatively resilient in previous weeks, joined the latest risk-off wave and recorded $25.7 million in outflows. Sweden saw $6.6 million in outflows, while Hong Kong posted $4.5 million.Canada was one of the few countries that managed to hold up, staying positive with a modest $0.4 million in inflows. Switzerland and the Netherlands also recorded small inflows of $0.5 million and $1.3 million, respectively.Altcoin participation collapsesThree weeks ago, 11 altcoins were recording inflows. This week, that number fell to five. The assets that managed to attract meaningful inflows were XRP with $20.3 million, Hyperliquid with $10.8 million, and Near with $7.6 million. Chainlink recorded $0.7 million in inflows, while Sui remained positive on a month-to-date basis with $7.2 million. However, Solana, Ethereum, and multi-asset products continued to see outflows. On the provider side, iShares recorded the largest outflow of the week at $1.148 billion. It was followed by Grayscale with $251 million and Fidelity with $190 million. On a year-to-date basis, Fidelity’s total outflows have reached $1.683 billion, giving it the weakest flow profile in the sector. In contrast, 21Shares AG remained positive on a monthly basis with $8 million in inflows, while Bitwise stayed positive month-to-date with $54 million.The message from CoinShares’ weekly report is clear: institutional investors remain cautious. The scale of three-week cumulative outflows and the sharp narrowing in altcoin participation show that risk appetite in the market has weakened significantly. As long as geopolitical pressure continues and macroeconomic uncertainty persists, flows may need a strong catalyst to turn positive in the short term.
