Bitcoin‘s slide below $60,000 last Friday marked the token’s worst weekly performance since the catastrophic collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX exchange in November 2022. While the triggers this time around appear far less dramatic than a full-scale exchange implosion, analysts warn the lack of a single spectacular blow-up may actually make the current downturn more dangerous — not less.
Bitcoin’s weekly decline amounted to roughly 19.5% from the weekly open to the low and 20.1% from the high to the low — its worst weekly percentage drop since the FTX crash, when the price fell by approximately 22% in a single week. Bitcoin opened the week around $73,760, briefly pushed as high as $74,092, then fell to a low of about $59,130.
The move erased all gains made since the U.S. presidential election, pushing Bitcoin to its weakest level since October 2024. As of Wednesday morning in Singapore, the token had clawed back some ground to trade around $61,500 — a modest recovery that few analysts expect to hold.
A “Silent” Bear Market
What makes this selloff particularly unnerving for market watchers is the absence of a clear single catalyst. Paul Howard, senior director at crypto trading firm Wincent, has described the current environment as a “silent bear market” — a slow-burning erosion of confidence rather than a sudden collapse. “The break below the 200-week moving average provides important confirmation that markets may have entered a bear phase,” Howard said, adding that with Bitcoin volatility elevated, any near-term rally is unlikely to prove sustainable.
The 200-week moving average is widely regarded as one of the most important long-term indicators in crypto markets. On June 4, Bitcoin touched its 200-week moving average at $61,300 — a support level that has been reached in almost every previous bear market. A sustained break below that threshold typically signals that rallies will be sold rather than chased.
Griffin Ardern, co-founder of multi-asset manager Primal Fund, was equally cautious. “I believe there is further downside,” he said. “We are still some way off a proper bottom.” Ardern noted that at genuine bottoming points, longer-dated options tend to show a bullish shift in positioning — something that is not yet materialising in current derivatives markets.
Bitcoin’s Worst Week Since FTX Crash
ETF Exodus and the Strategy Shock
Two developments in particular accelerated the decline. Over a 13-day period spanning late May and early June 2026, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced outflows totalling approximately $4.4 billion — a record streak that dwarfs any previous withdrawal period since the products launched in early 2024, with single-day outflows exceeding $1 billion on multiple occasions.
The heavy ETF redemptions were compounded by an unexpected move from Strategy Inc., the Bitcoin treasury company led by Michael Saylor. Strategy executed its first Bitcoin sale in nearly four years, a decision that rattled investor confidence given the company’s longstanding reputation as an aggressive, never-sell accumulator. The company moved quickly to steady nerves, announcing it had subsequently purchased 1,550 Bitcoin for approximately $101 million — far exceeding the amount it sold — but the psychological damage had already been done.
Because Strategy holds one of the largest institutional pools of Bitcoin, even a small change in its behaviour tends to draw outsized market attention. The question now is whether the company will return to bulk purchases or continue at a reduced pace.
Bitcoin Spot ETF Net Inflow (Source: Coinglass)
Macro Headwinds Pile Up
Beyond the crypto-specific pressures, a deteriorating macroeconomic backdrop is amplifying the pain. The prospect of higher interest rates is pulling capital away from speculative assets, with Rajiv Sawhney, head of international portfolio management at Wave Digital Assets, describing recent shifts in rate expectations as “a massive reversal.” Strong U.S. jobs data and the unresolved U.S.-Iran conflict have caused markets to move from pricing in Federal Reserve rate cuts to now factoring in the possibility of rate increases.
K33 Research head Vetle Lunde argued that some ETF outflows reflected a broader rotation of capital away from crypto and into artificial intelligence investments, with AI-related stocks pushing to record highs and investors anticipating potential IPOs from companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX — raising the opportunity cost of holding Bitcoin.
History Counsels Caution
The current drawdown, while severe, remains shallower than previous crypto winters. Bitcoin has fallen roughly 50% from its October 2025 all-time high above $126,000, compared with drawdowns of approximately 80% in prior bear markets. After the 2021 peak, Bitcoin required more than a year to find its bottom and another 15 months to reclaim its highs.
Some analysts point to an Elliott Wave structure suggesting Bitcoin may now be entering a C-Wave decline — the final, most psychologically punishing phase of a bear market, often characterised by widespread capitulation and fading optimism, but also historically where the best long-term buying opportunities emerge.
Hayden Hughes, managing partner at Tokenize Capital, flagged another systemic concern: digital-asset treasury companies like Strategy represent what he called “an idiosyncratic risk to the crypto industry.” Should financing conditions tighten or share prices fall, these large holders could become forced sellers, amplifying any broader market downturn.
For now, the broader picture remains fragile. Institutional demand that anchored Bitcoin through much of 2025 has abruptly reversed, technical support is under pressure, and macro tailwinds have turned to headwinds. Bitcoin’s drop may not yet have matched the scale of past cycles — but as multiple analysts have noted, that word “yet” carries considerable weight.
