Key Takeaways
- Bitcoin slid under $66,000 on Wednesday, wiping out its entire April rally and hitting an intraday low of $65,362.
- Over $1 billion in total crypto positions were liquidated over two days, led heavily by long bets.
- Strategy’s shock sale broke its HODL streak, threatening to pull bitcoin down toward $60,000 next.
Bitcoin Erases April Gains
Bitcoin’s downward slide continued on Wednesday as the cryptocurrency dipped below $66,000, erasing its April gains. The digital currency plunged from just over $67,700 to an intraday low of $65,362—a loss of more than $2,000 in six hours.
While it later recovered to trade just under $66,000 by 1:09 p.m. EST, bitcoin still logged its third consecutive day of losses exceeding 2%. The June 3 drop brought the cryptocurrency closer to lows last seen in February, pushing cumulative losses since Monday to approximately $8,000, or 10%.
The price action momentarily trimmed bitcoin’s market capitalization down to $1.31 trillion before a slight rebound. The tumble to a fresh multi-month low also pushed the cryptocurrency closer to its year-to-date low of just over $60,000 recorded in early February.
Since Monday, a perfect storm of macroeconomic anxiety and institutional panic has heavily weighed on the cryptocurrency. Initially, escalating geopolitical friction in the Middle East—triggered by reports of defensive military strikes between the U.S. Navy and Iranian forces near the Strait of Hormuz—sapped investor risk appetite, driving capital into safe havens like gold.
However, it was an unexpected regulatory filing from Strategy that sent the market into a true tailspin. The corporate bitcoin treasury company revealed it had sold 32 bitcoins to fund preferred stock dividends. While the $2.5 million sale accounted for a tiny fraction of its massive treasury, the transaction shattered a long-standing psychological “never-sell” narrative surrounding the firm.
This bearish momentum spilled aggressively into Wednesday. Even a reassurance post on X by Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor seemed to fail to stabilize retail panic. Highlighting the severity of the exodus, data revealed that on June 2, spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) bled $519 million, extending a grueling, 12-day streak of consecutive net outflows.
Meanwhile, Wednesday’s price action triggered nearly $500 million in leveraged liquidations for bitcoin alone. Consistent with recent trends, long bets accounted for a disproportionate $437 million of that total. Across the broader cryptocurrency market, total liquidations surpassed the $1 billion mark for the second consecutive day, comprising $945 million in long positions and $193 million in shorts.
