Bitcoin Slides 21% to Retest $61,000 as Strategy Debt Buyback Fuels Liquidity Fears

Bitcoin, the world’s leading cryptocurrency, is widely viewed as a barometer for risk assets. A recent escalation in geopolitical conflict has pushed oil prices higher, while stress in Japan’s bond market and the prospect of selling by Strategy have heightened investor concerns about a renewed global regulatory crackdown. Together, these headwinds have put Bitcoin at risk of retesting a key psychological threshold. Whether that support holds will be an important signal for the broader digital asset market.

Geopolitical risks weighed on risk assets after former US President Donald Trump warned in mid-July that the United States would forcibly operate the blocked Strait of Hormuz. Bitcoin briefly fell below $62,000 on July 15 before testing support at $60,000. The latest data, however, showed signs that panic selling was stabilizing on July 16 as sellers’ profit margins fell to zero. The market is now watching closely to see whether Bitcoin can hold the $60,000 level.

Bitcoin weakened even as global equities and AI stocks hit record highs, reflecting a shift in capital toward technology shares and cooling institutional demand. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs had been a major source of buying in the current rally, while Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, has long been viewed as a bellwether for corporate Bitcoin holdings, making its moves influential for market confidence. Reports describing these developments as “recent” did not provide an exact calendar date.

Bitcoin first fell below $66,000 this week before briefly retreating to around $62,400. Other reports said it later lost the $60,000 level, triggering more than $1.5 billion in forced liquidations across the crypto market. U.S. spot ETFs recorded net outflows for 11 consecutive days, totaling about $3.5 billion. Strategy reduced its holdings for the first time since the end of 2022, with the market’s excess supply estimated at $4.4 billion.

Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, has allocated heavily to Bitcoin through its corporate balance sheet since 2020 and had long maintained a buy-only stance, making its moves a gauge of institutional confidence. Its first reduction in nearly four years, though extremely small, amplified market concerns as spot ETFs continued to see outflows. BitMine moved in the opposite direction by adding ETH, highlighting a divergence in corporate crypto-asset strategies.

Strategy sold 32 BTC from May 26 to May 31, 2026, at an average price of $77,135, raising about $2.5 million to pay preferred-stock dividends. The sale represented only about 0.004% of its holdings of more than 843,700 BTC. On June 1, BitMine disclosed that it had purchased 26,497 ETH worth about $53 million. Bitcoin fell below $72,000 on June 2 and at one point approached $69,000.

Strategy has long accumulated Bitcoin by issuing debt and shares, closely tying its balance sheet to the cryptocurrency’s price and raising market concerns over whether it could be forced to sell. BTC.TOP CEO Jiang Zhuoer said the company’s debt amounts to only about 5% of its assets and that it could cover the 11.5% annual interest on its STRC preferred stock by selling Bitcoin acquired early at low cost.

On June 8, 2026, Jiang said on X that even if Bitcoin fell from about $62,900 to $30,000, Strategy’s debt-to-asset ratio would rise only to about 10%. He also rejected the inference that outflows of about 45,000 Bitcoin, worth $3 billion, from Fidelity custody wallets between May 28 and June 1 showed that Strategy was repaying debt, saying the wallets also hold ETF assets.

Bitcoin is highly sensitive to interest rates and risk appetite. Conflict in the Middle East and the Strait of Hormuz crisis have driven up oil prices and inflation concerns, while rising U.S. Treasury yields have pushed capital toward safe-haven assets such as the dollar. The latest decline has also affected liquidity across the broader cryptocurrency market.

As of July 19, Bitcoin had fallen about 3% over 24 hours, dropping below $67,000 and touching a two-week low. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield approached 4.5%, near a one-year high, while about $300 million in long positions were liquidated. Core Scientific separately sold $175 million worth of Bitcoin and plans to redirect the proceeds into AI data centers and high-performance computing operations.

Bitcoin has recently faced the dual pressures of spot-market selling and an escalation in the US-Iran military conflict, with Brent crude briefly rising to $95 a barrel. US spot Bitcoin ETFs have recorded $3.46 billion in net outflows since May 13, signaling capital flight from the crypto market and increasing the risk of cascading liquidations of leveraged positions.

On June 1, Bitcoin fell below $71,000 for the first time in seven weeks, liquidating about $276 million in leveraged long positions. However, the long-to-short ratio among Binance whales rose to 1.4 from 1.1 a week earlier, while the ratio on OKX climbed to 1.9 on Monday. Futures open interest across major exchanges held at $43.5 billion, suggesting professional traders were adding bullish positions on the dip, although a rebound still depends on an easing of spot-market selling pressure.

The 11 U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs have become an important gateway for institutional capital entering the crypto market, and their flows are also viewed as an indicator of price support. ETF redemptions, aggressive selling in spot and futures markets, and demand for options hedges are now rising in tandem, suggesting the correction may be more than a pullback after a rally.

Bitcoin fell about 6% from $82,000 to $76,800 and dropped below $77,000 again on May 22. SoSoValue data showed that the 11 ETFs had recorded more than $1.5 billion in outflows since May 7, including $648 million on May 18 alone. Glassnode said spot cumulative volume delta, or CVD, had fallen to negative $126.2 million, with key support at $74,000–$76,000.

Bitcoin is highly sensitive to interest rates and dollar liquidity. When US Treasury yields rise, non-yielding assets become relatively less attractive to hold. The latest decline coincided with losses in stocks and gold, reflecting traders’ reassessment of the Federal Reserve’s rate-hike path amid inflation concerns. The move was therefore not confined to the crypto market.

Around May 15, Bitcoin fell about 3% in a single day, breaking below $79,000 and touching $78,000 before sliding below $77,000 to a low of about $76,000. Liquidations of bullish crypto positions reached $500 million, while SOL and XRP each dropped about 5%. US Treasury yields neared 20-year highs, although Bitcoin’s implied volatility remained low.

Strategy has long increased its Bitcoin holdings through debt and securities issuance, while the ex-dividend date of its STRC preferred stock has become a closely watched market marker. Over the past six months, BTC mostly declined in the week after STRC went ex-dividend. Its latest move above $79,000, the highest since early February, is therefore seen as an important sign that the short-term trading structure is strengthening.

The latest price action shows Bitcoin rising within a week of STRC’s ex-dividend date, breaking the previous slump pattern for the first time in six months. Analysts said negative funding rates forced bearish traders to cover their positions, triggering a short squeeze. At the same time, US investors aggressively bought spot Bitcoin through Coinbase, helping push BTC toward and then above $79,000.

Bitcoin has long been viewed by some investors as inflation-resistant “digital gold,” but its recent performance has more closely resembled that of a volatile risk asset. Its price has moved closely in line with software-stock benchmarks such as the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV), suggesting that selling pressure in U.S. technology shares and private equity markets is spilling into cryptocurrencies.

During U.S. trading on Monday, July 13, Bitcoin briefly rebounded above $65,000, but the rally failed to hold. It retreated to about $65,400 as the broader stock market and software shares declined. Polymarket showed the probability of Bitcoin falling below $55,000 had risen to 72%, reflecting weakening confidence among holders and increased downside risk.