Bitcoin fell to a 1.5-year low. For the third time in 2026, it dipped below $60,000.

Bitcoin fell below $60,000 for the third time this year, hitting its lowest price since October 2024. Two negative factors have converged for the cryptocurrency with the largest market capitalization: investors are increasingly doubting the stability of Strategy, the largest holder of Bitcoin, at a time when retail traders’ interest is shifting toward AI-related stocks.

On June 24, Bitcoin fell by more than 5%—to just over $59,000—but then recovered some of its losses. At the same time, Strategy shares fell for the sixth consecutive trading session—by 9.3% in a single day—hitting their lowest level since February 2024.

According to CoinGlass, nearly $800 million in long positions were liquidated on the crypto market over the past 24 hours. On Friday, June 26, Bitcoin options worth about $10 billion will expire, according to data from Deribit cited by Bloomberg.

"The market is reevaluating the entire business model of MSTR and STRC (Strategy’s common and preferred shares — Oninvest)," Bloomberg quotes Shilian Tan, managing partner at Monarq Asset Management, as saying.

Over the past few years, Strategy has been one of the largest buyers of Bitcoin: it has regularly raised capital through stock offerings and preferred securities to finance new cryptocurrency purchases, according to Bloomberg. Investors in Bitcoin-linked exchange-traded funds (ETFs) provided additional support to the market.

However, this strategy now faces growing risks. In June, Strategy sold a portion of its Bitcoin holdings for the first time since 2022. And many investors who bought Bitcoin through exchange-traded funds at higher prices are sitting on losses and are less inclined to increase their positions during a correction, according to Bloomberg. At the same time, some retail traders have shifted their attention and capital to the rapidly growing sector of AI-related stocks. Amid the war in the Middle East and inflation fears, cryptocurrency has failed to live up to its status as a safe-haven asset and has often traded as a high-risk instrument.

"As expectations of a Fed rate cut continue to be pushed back, this is putting pressure on Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation," Stefan Wellett, CEO of FRNT Financial, told Bloomberg.

"Right now, Bitcoin looks as if there are sellers in the market but almost no buyers," says Noel Acheson, author of the "Crypto is Macro Now" newsletter, whose opinion is cited by Bloomberg.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor