Bitcoin Slides Under $73K as ETF Outflow Streak Hits Record!

Bitcoin fell roughly 1.4% in the past 24 hours to trade below $73,000, while Ether dropped 2.1% to $1,980 and the broader CoinDesk 20 index shed 2.38%. The move extends a 10-session, $2.97 billion outflow streak from U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs — the longest withdrawal run on record — which included the rapid exit of a $1.2 billion position.

Laser Digital's derivatives desk noted the market "sold off through last week without a clear catalyst," pointing to a lack of demand that included Strategy announcing it had not purchased any BTC. With Strategy's STRC preferred stock still trading below par and retail interest absent, the desk expects BTC to remain weak near-term.

The macro backdrop is adding pressure: oil prices climbed more than 3% after the U.S. and Iran traded strikes and Israel moved further into Lebanon, stalling efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, AI enthusiasm has pushed global equity indexes to fresh highs, leaving crypto at risk of further underperformance relative to equities.

On the altcoin side, Hyperliquid's HYPE token continues to outperform Solana's SOL, hitting record highs on the HYPE/SOL ratio — though weakening RSI momentum is flagging a potential near-term pullback without yet confirming a structural break.