Bitcoin slid below $60,000: why is the crypto market crashing?

Bitcoin extended its steep decline on Friday, falling to its lowest level since October 2024.

The fall came as a combination of selling pressure, weak market demand, and shifting macroeconomic expectations drove another wave of losses across the cryptocurrency market.

The world's largest cryptocurrency fell 5% to $60,750, after earlier touching $59,764.90.

The move leaves Bitcoin down roughly 17% for the week and more than 52% below its all-time high of about $126,000 reached in October 2025.

The weakness spread across crypto-linked equities. Shares of Coinbase, Circle, and Strategy each fell about 8% on Friday, while Strategy was down roughly 25% for the week.

Strategy sale and ETF outflows weigh on sentiment

The selloff began after Michael Saylor's Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) sold a small portion of its Bitcoin holdings, a move that weighed on investor sentiment and triggered hundreds of millions of dollars in liquidations across crypto markets.

The decline was compounded by persistent outflows from spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, which had previously been one of the strongest drivers of institutional demand for the cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin ETFs collectively recorded a net inflow of just $3 million on Thursday, ending a 13-session streak of outflows, the longest such streak on record.

Total net assets across Bitcoin ETFs fell to $80.4 billion from $107.8 billion on May 14.

Several analysts also pointed to a broader rotation of capital away from cryptocurrencies and toward artificial intelligence-related investments.

Meanwhile, CryptoQuant data showed spot crypto trading volume fell to $679 billion in April, the lowest monthly level since October 2023, suggesting a continued lack of demand across the market.

Macro pressures add to selling

Cryptocurrencies came under additional pressure after a stronger-than-expected US jobs report on Friday prompted investors to reassess the outlook for interest rates.

The labor market data pushed Treasury yields higher and weighed on risk assets broadly.

The Nasdaq was down more than 2% on Friday, while investors increasingly shifted away from expectations of interest-rate cuts.

Market participants have now largely priced in the Federal Reserve's next move as a rate hike, reflecting concerns that inflation remains elevated and the labor market continues to show resilience.

The changing rate outlook has reduced appetite for speculative assets, including cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin narratives face new questions

Bitcoin's recent weakness has also coincided with a divergence from traditional market behavior that many investors expected.

While geopolitical uncertainty surrounding the Iran war has weighed on Bitcoin in recent months, US equity markets have continued reaching record highs.

That divergence has led some investors to question two of bitcoin's dominant investment narratives: its role as a form of "digital gold" during periods of geopolitical uncertainty and its tendency to trade as a high-beta technology asset during risk-on market environments.

At the same time, progress on a major legislative catalyst for the industry has stalled.

The Clarity Act, a proposed crypto market structure bill that many investors viewed as a potential driver of renewed institutional participation, appears increasingly uncertain as lawmakers remain divided on key provisions and legislative priorities shift elsewhere.

Altcoins suffer deeper losses

The broader cryptocurrency market experienced even sharper declines than Bitcoin.

Ether fell to its lowest level since April 2025, when it previously found support near $1,420 before rallying to record highs later that year.

A break below that level could bring prices closer to levels last seen during the 2022 crypto bear market.

Among individual tokens, privacy-focused cryptocurrency Zcash was one of the week's worst performers.

Zcash plunged more than 30% on Friday, with losses at one point exceeding 40%, after a security researcher identified a vulnerability that could have enabled the creation of unlimited tokens within its shielded pool.

The discovery has also intensified broader discussions within the crypto industry about potential vulnerabilities as artificial intelligence systems become increasingly capable of identifying flaws in software and cryptographic protocols.