Bitcoin ETFs Bleed $6.4 Billion in a Month as the Token Drops Below $60,000

Spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the United States recorded $6.4 billion of net outflows over the 30 days through Thursday, June 25, 2026 — the largest monthly withdrawal period since the funds were launched in 2024, according to a Mizuho (Mizuho) note flagged that morning, CNBC reported. The selling pressure has continued this week: investors pulled a further $651 million from bitcoin ETFs so far, per SoSoValue (SoSoValue) data. The outflows come as bitcoin itself fell to its lowest level since October 2024, hovering below $60,000.

Hardware cryptocurrency wallet next to an investment folder and a dark idle laptop

Squeezed from all sides

The flagship cryptocurrency has been under pressure from several directions at once this month. Institutional investors have been reducing their risk exposure amid a weaker bitcoin price, higher-rate concerns and broader market uncertainty — and bitcoin ETFs have become one of the easiest vehicles to do that.

Where the speculative money went

Three destinations have been the bigger winners in the competition for speculative capital, CNBC noted:

artificial intelligence;
the SpaceX IPO;
prediction markets.

A legislative catalyst on hold

The crypto market structure bill known as the CLARITY Act (CLARITY Act) has been one of the key upside catalysts for the broader crypto market. It is now increasingly at risk of being pushed to the fall, as competing legislative priorities crowd the congressional agenda.

An institutional building with columns and a coin emblem: institutional investors used spot bitcoin ETFs as one of the easiest ways to cut risk exposure — Institutions exit through ETFs: $6.4 billion of net outflows in 30 days, the largest since the funds launched in 2024.

The Strategy factor

June began with a bitcoin sell-off triggered by Strategy (Strategy), the pioneer among bitcoin treasury firms, selling a small but symbolically significant amount of its coins. While that is not the key driver of the bitcoin price at the moment, the company's moves are not completely separate from investor sentiment. On Thursday, Strategy's STRC preferred stock dropped to $73.62 — a record 26% below its $100 par level — as Strategy shares extended a multiweek sell-off that brought the stock down around 45% in June alone.

A more muted winter than before

Although sentiment is weak, the current drawdown has been more muted than the crushing declines that characterized previous crypto winters: bitcoin's fall is now in its eighth month from its peak of about $126,000. One big reason is the increase in institutional participation, according to Sam Callahan, director of bitcoin strategy and research at bitcoin treasury firm OranjeBTC (OranjeBTC).

"The thing about bitcoin today versus prior bear markets is it is more institutionalized," Callahan said. "The volatility profile is lower than it was in the past ... because the investor base is larger, it's more liquid. Bitcoin's not so much a smaller retail held asset, it's more institutionalized now."