Bitcoin fell below 63,000 dollars in thin holiday trading on Friday, triggering more than 1.1 billion dollars in forced liquidations across the broader crypto market as leveraged positions unwound during the Juneteenth trading pause.
The cryptocurrency touched an intraday low of 61,165 dollars before recovering slightly, representing a roughly 30 percent decline year-to-date. The selloff came on a day when US stock markets were closed, leaving digital asset markets without the stabilising presence of institutional equity flows.
Several factors drove the move lower. Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded approximately 2.97 billion dollars in net outflows during a ten-session withdrawal streak between mid and late May, reducing a key source of buying pressure. The Federal Reserve‘s decision to hold rates at 3.5 percent this week, with no cuts signalled for the rest of 2026, added to the pressure by keeping the dollar strong and risk appetite constrained.
The US-Iran geopolitical situation has also contributed to sticky inflation readings, which in turn have pushed back investor expectations for easier monetary conditions. Strategy, the corporate entity most closely associated with Bitcoin accumulation and formerly known as MicroStrategy, executed its first Bitcoin sale since 2022 in recent weeks, a development that unsettled sentiment among institutional holders.
Altcoins fell in sympathy. Ethereum traded around 1,729 dollars, XRP was under pressure after failing to hold above the 1.15 dollar support level, and the broader digital credit market experienced a larger selloff driven partly by forced selling from leveraged investors.
The Bitcoin price in mid-June had been holding near 66,000 dollars following the Federal Reserve meeting. The drop to below 63,000 represents a meaningful reversal of the recovery that followed the Iran peace deal. XRP ETF inflows earlier this month had briefly suggested institutional appetite was broadening, but this week’s data painted a more cautious picture.
Analysts are now watching the 60,000 dollar level as the next major support zone. A sustained break below that floor would extend Bitcoin’s 2026 decline to more than 35 percent from the January peak. The next potential catalyst for a recovery is a resolution to remaining trade tensions and any softening in Fed language heading into the July meeting, where markets are now pricing a 36 percent chance of a rate increase rather than a cut.
