The price of Bitcoin is trading close to $61,500 today, extending the decline that has erased more than half of its value since the token reached a record high in October 2025. The sale is growing with publicly traded crypto companies, where losses have sometimes exceeded Bitcoin itself.
The token fell to $61,877 earlier this week – its lowest level since June 11 – before sliding further. Bitcoin price briefly broke below $60,000 on June 5, a level not seen since late 2024, before a partial recovery has stalled.
Deutsche Bank says Bitcoin’s weakness is due to a combination of institutional pressure. The Federal Reserve’s shift in expectations – the bank now predicts two rate hikes in 2026, reversing earlier expectations of a rate cut – has removed a key pillar of institutional demand. Higher rates make riskier assets less attractive compared to cash and bonds.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs have seen six consecutive weeks of net outflows of around $6 billion, with $2.4 billion leaving in June alone. Deutsche Bank analyst Marion Laboure described Bitcoin as “increasingly trading as an institutional risk asset,” with the marginal buyer now being an ETF investor or corporate treasurer rather than a retail participant. When those buyers leave, the price follows.
The competition for artificial intelligence has added pressure. American tech giants are on track to spend more than $700 billion on AI infrastructure by 2026, and investors are treating Bitcoin and AI-equity as competing hedge funds. The sell-off in tech stocks that began on Monday sent Bitcoin prices down in line, with the Nasdaq 100 down 3.4%.
Blood in the streets for the price of bitcoin and crypto stocks
The pain has been severe for companies that built their business models around Bitcoin hoarding.
Strategy, the largest Bitcoin holder, has fallen for five consecutive trading sessions and is down more than 20% in the past week.
The stock is down 26% in the last 30 days. The big catalyst came in late May when Strategy sold 32 BTC for about $2.5 million – its first Bitcoin sale since 2022 – to cover a distribution in preferred stock. The move upset the company’s motto of “only buy, never sell” and upset investors.
The strategy holds a series of preferred stock with combined annual dividend obligations of approximately $750–$800 million, and its reserves have fallen from $2.25 billion in early 2026 to approximately $900 million.
Strive, a Bitcoin treasury company backed by Vivek Ramaswamy, has also been successful. The company bought 2,500 BTC for $185 million at an average price of $74,092 – above current levels – leaving it sitting at a paper loss. Shares of Strive (ASST) fell after the acquisition was disclosed, a sign that investors are skeptical of aggressive accumulation strategies on high cost bases.
Strive now owns approximately 19,864 BTC with an estimated value of $1.3 billion, and like Strategy, it carries preferred dividend obligations that must be paid regardless of where Bitcoin’s price trades.
Coinbase fell 2.5% on Tuesday. Stablecoin issuer Circle is down more than 4%.
At the time of writing, the price of bitcoin is $61,205.
