Key Takeaways

• Bitcoin falls 1.2%: To $61,685.0 — briefly dipping below $60,000 Wednesday and hovering near a 1.5-year low hit earlier in June.
• Seven straight weeks of ETF outflows: Spot Bitcoin ETFs are on track for their longest consecutive outflow streak of the year.
• $469M single-day outflow: Wednesday’s exodus was the biggest since June 2, signaling deepening institutional disenchantment.
• Retail demand weak: Glassnode data shows Bitcoin trading at a major discount on Coinbase versus the global average — a signal of limited U.S. retail appetite.
• AI pivot accelerating: Chipmaking stocks surged Thursday after Micron’s strong earnings — illustrating the stark capital rotation from crypto to AI-exposed assets.
• Higher-for-longer rate fears dominate: Growing expectations that the Fed will hold or raise rates further this year continue to weigh on non-yielding crypto assets.
• PCE data the day’s key event: The Fed’s preferred inflation gauge is due Thursday and will shape near-term rate hike expectations.
• June Fed meeting the catalyst: The hawkish signals from Warsh’s debut meeting rattled crypto markets — and the damage is still reverberating.
• Ether falls 1%: To $1,647.47.
• XRP and Solana slip slightly: Both marginally lower.
• Cardano bucks trend: Rose 1.4%.
• BNB slips 1.2%: Underperforming the broader market.
• Memecoins struggle: Dogecoin shed 2.1%; $TRUMP fell 1.3%.

Bitcoin slid on Thursday, remaining close to its lowest levels this year and largely lagging a rally in broader risk-on markets as investors steadily pulled more capital from crypto exchange-traded funds.

The world’s largest crypto fell 1.2% to $61,685.0 by 06:11 ET (10:11 GMT). It had briefly fallen below $60,000 on Wednesday and remained close to a 1.5-year low hit earlier in June.

Crypto markets remained under pressure from growing expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will either keep interest rates high for longer or even raise them further this year. Focus was on upcoming U.S. PCE price index data — the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge — for more cues on rates.

Bitcoin ETF Outflows Deepen as AI Pivot Continues

Bitcoin’s spot exchange-traded funds clocked higher outflows on Wednesday, amid a continued pivot into artificial intelligence stocks and assets with clearer fundamentals.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs saw an outflow of $469 million on Wednesday — their biggest single-day exit since June 2.

The ETFs were headed for a seventh straight week of outflows as crypto lost favor in both institutional and retail markets.

Glassnode data showed Bitcoin continued to trade at a major discount on Coinbase compared with the global average — signaling limited retail demand in the United States.

Crypto was seen steadily losing steam this year as investors pivoted into assets with much clearer fundamentals. AI stocks were a clear target of this trade, with global chipmaking stocks rallying sharply on Thursday following strong earnings from memory chip maker Micron.

Crypto Price Today: Altcoins Dither; PCE Data in Focus

Broader crypto prices largely dithered on Thursday.

Ether, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, fell 1% to $1,647.47.

XRP and Solana fell slightly, while Cardano rose 1.4%. BNB slipped 1.2%.

Among memecoins, Dogecoin shed 2.1%, while $TRUMP fell 1.3%.

Focus was squarely on upcoming U.S. PCE price index data, due later on Thursday. The print is the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge and is widely expected to factor into the central bank’s plans for interest rates.

Hawkish signals from the Fed during its June meeting had rattled crypto markets, given that higher interest rates bode poorly for non-yielding assets.