Bitcoin Continues Its Losing Streak as ETF Outflows Hit a Record and Investors Chase IPOs
Bitcoin fell for the fifth straight day Thursday, sliding as low as $61.3K before partially recovering, its longest losing streak since August 2025.
The token is now trading at a four-month low, down roughly half from its all-time high above $126K reached in October 2025, per Bloomberg.
Investors pulled $4.4B from US-listed Bitcoin ETFs across 13 consecutive sessions, a record-long outflow run, per Bloomberg data.
Close to $4B in bullish bets were liquidated from Monday through Thursday, with Bitcoin leading the forced selling, according to CoinGlass.
"This week has been painful in crypto," said Geoffrey Kendrick, Standard Chartered's head of digital asset research.
Strategy disclosed it sold 32 Bitcoin this week, its first divestiture since 2022.
The sale was a fraction of the company's $53B Bitcoin reserve, but it rattled a market that had long relied on Strategy's aggressive accumulation stance.
Ether also fell to its lowest since April 2025, trading around $1.8K on Thursday.
Liquidity Rotating Toward Equities
Capital competition is part of the pressure, according to the QCP trading desk.
"Crypto is facing competition for capital as equity markets continue to outperform," QCP said, pointing to both crypto-native investors and traditional asset managers moving funds toward stronger equity narratives.
Investors may also be positioning for highly anticipated IPOs from SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic, QCP added.
"Bitcoin needs to hold around $65K," said Jonathan Krinsky, technical strategist at BTIG, calling it the last line of defense before year-to-date lows near $60K come into view.
Capitulation Signals Emerge
Roughly 26% of Bitcoin sales in the past 30 days came from investors who originally bought above $90K, per Compass Point analyst Ed Engel.
"They're finally capitulating as BTC approaches new cycle lows," Engel said, adding that the trend makes him more confident the bear market is entering its final stages.
Not everyone is ready to call the bottom.
Sean Farrell, head of digital assets at Fundstrate, said the evidence of capitulation is "not yet compelling enough" to turn aggressively bullish on major tokens.
The next market signal arrives Monday, when Strategy typically announces Bitcoin purchases. Investors will be watching whether the company buys back more than it sold.
