Bitcoin fell 0.9% to $59,555.3 by 01:45 ET (05:45 GMT) on Tuesday, extending recent declines that followed a hawkish message from the U.S. Federal Reserve at its June meeting. The Fed\u2019s stance increased expectations for at least one additional rate hike this year, adding pressure on non-yielding, speculative assets such as cryptocurrencies, which tend to underperform in high-rate environments due to rising opportunity costs.<\/p>\n
The world\u2019s largest cryptocurrency also faced sustained institutional selling through spot Bitcoin ETFs, with outflows persisting for an eighth consecutive week. Spot ETFs recorded $231.1 million in net outflows on Monday, bringing total outflows in June to $4.3 billion, according to data from SoSoValue. Since the end of April, Bitcoin ETFs have seen cumulative outflows of about $6.7 billion, reflecting rapidly cooling investor appetite for crypto exposure via these vehicles.<\/p>\n
These persistent outflows left Bitcoin down nearly 13% for the June quarter, positioning it near its weakest levels so far this year.<\/p>\n
Market sentiment towards risk assets remained cautious amid ongoing uncertainty over the U.S.-Iran conflict. While the U.S. indicated it was due for more talks with Iran this week, Tehran stated it had not committed to any negotiations, contributing to a more selective stance among investors towards speculative assets.<\/p>\n
Within this environment, artificial intelligence stocks continued to attract speculative capital. Confidence that the AI sector could drive strong technology gains over the coming months, combined with recent pullbacks that drew bargain buyers, left cryptocurrencies competing for a smaller share of risk-focused inflows.<\/p>\n
Regulatory factors also weighed on the asset class, as the lack of clear progress on the CLARITY Act, a major U.S. regulatory bill for crypto, added to uncertainty. Broader crypto prices moved little on Tuesday but remained under pressure for the quarter. Ether, the world\u2019s second-largest cryptocurrency, rose 0.5% to $1,590.96 yet has lost nearly a quarter of its valuation over the past three months. XRP was flat, BNB slipped 0.1%, Cardano declined 0.2%, while Solana gained 2.4%.<\/p>\n
Among memecoins, Dogecoin fell 1.1%, whereas $TRUMP edged up 0.4%.<\/p>\n
Why is Bitcoin trading near its weakest levels of the year?<\/strong> How large have Bitcoin ETF outflows been recently?<\/strong> How are other major cryptocurrencies performing this quarter?<\/strong> What other assets are attracting speculative interest?<\/strong>
Bitcoin is under pressure from expectations of higher U.S. interest rates and sustained institutional selling through spot Bitcoin ETFs, which have experienced eight consecutive weeks of outflows.<\/p>\n
Spot Bitcoin ETFs saw $231.1 million in outflows on Monday, with total outflows of $4.3 billion so far in June and about $6.7 billion since the end of April, according to SoSoValue data.<\/p>\n
Ether has lost nearly 25% of its value over the past three months, while Bitcoin is down almost 13% for the June quarter. Other major tokens such as XRP, BNB, Cardano, and Solana have also seen quarterly pressure, despite some modest daily moves.<\/p>\n
Artificial intelligence stocks remain a preferred target for speculative trades, supported by confidence in their technology growth prospects and recent price declines that have drawn bargain buyers.<\/p>\n