Bitcoin Slides Toward $60K as Strategy Sells and ETF Outflows Mount

Bitcoin extended its painful 2026 descent this week, slipping below $62,000 on Friday after opening at $63,812 and continuing lower through the morning session. The prices of both Bitcoin and Ethereum continued their descent following May's employment report and news that Hezbollah rejected Israel's offer of a ceasefire. Ethereum fell in tandem, opening at $1,768.86 on Friday, down 2.4% from Thursday's opening price.

Major cryptocurrencies tumbled even as global stock indexes hit fresh records, with Bitcoin dropping as much as 12.3% on the week. The sell-off followed a string of bearish developments, including MicroStrategy's first disclosed Bitcoin sale, heavy spot Bitcoin ETF outflows exceeding $3.2 billion, and a large Mt. Gox wallet transfer. Global stocks meanwhile set fresh all-time highs as the AI trade intensified, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rallying nearly 6% to a record.

Strategy Ends Four-Year Streak, Bears Eye $60,000

Strategy ended its famous four-year never-sell streak by liquidating 32 Bitcoin for $2.5 million to fund dividend distributions on its STRC perpetual preferred stock. The firm's cash reserves have dwindled from $2.25 billion to $900 million in just five months, exhausting its capacity to accumulate more cryptocurrency while managing $750 million to $800 million in annual preferred dividend obligations. The move rattled confidence across the market.

Traders on prediction market platform Kalshi think the cryptocurrency has more room to fall in its current crypto winter, placing a nearly 80% chance that Bitcoin's price will drop below $60,000 in 2026, which would mean tumbling below February's levels. Traders on Kalshi have also grown more bearish on when Bitcoin might hit six figures again, giving it just a 27% chance of happening in 2026 after assigning nearly 50% odds as recently as early May.

On the regulatory front, a key piece of legislation advanced quietly this spring. The CLARITY Act, aimed at establishing a clear regulatory framework for digital assets, passed a major Senate committee hurdle on May 14, 2026, a development seen as bullish for Bitcoin because it promised regulatory clarity and reduced uncertainty. Separately, new California crypto regulations take effect July 1, 2026, requiring anyone engaged in digital financial asset business activity with a California resident to obtain a license from the state's Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. With Washington and Sacramento both moving toward firmer rules, the industry faces a summer defined as much by policy deadlines as by price pressure.