CoinDesk
Bitcoin slipped below $60,000 over the weekend, trading around $59,940 on Sunday, down 0.6% over 24 hours and nearly 7% on the week. With two days left in the quarter, the asset is on pace to finish the second quarter down roughly 12%, on top of a roughly 22% drop in the first quarter. Two straight losing quarters to start a year is unusual for Bitcoin, having happened only twice in its history, and breaks from a second quarter that has historically averaged gains over the past decade.
Altcoins led the way down again. Ether fell 9.5% on the week to about $1,567, putting it on track for a roughly 25% quarterly loss after a 29% first-quarter drop. Dogecoin dropped 11.7% to $0.073, Hyperliquid's HYPE lost 10.6%, and XRP slid 8.7% to $1.04. Solana held up better at $70, off 3.5%, and Tron was the most resilient, down just 1.5%. The market has spent the week leaning on Bitcoin's relative steadiness while everything riskier fell faster.
Why it matters
The driver list has been stable for weeks. Outflows from US spot Bitcoin ETFs, a hawkish Federal Reserve under new Chair Kevin Warsh, and a US dollar near a seven-month high have all weighed on crypto, while a tech-stock selloff earlier in the week added to the pressure. Capital has found a clearer favourite in semiconductor and memory-chip stocks riding the AI buildout. That rotation, not a crypto-specific shock, is doing most of the damage.
Market impact
The setup into the third quarter is simple to frame. Traders will watch whether the ETF outflows and soft demand ease, or whether the weakness that has run through the first half carries into the second. A back-to-back losing first half breaks a decade-long seasonal pattern, and a sustained break would put the post-halving-year thesis back on the table. For now, the relative-strength trade is within crypto itself: majors outperforming alts, and within majors, Bitcoin outperforming Ether.
Source: Bitcoin falls below $60,000, on track for a rare back-to-back quarterly loss - CoinDesk
Frequently asked questions
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Why is Bitcoin below $60,000 right now?
Outflows from US spot Bitcoin ETFs, a hawkish Federal Reserve under Chair Kevin Warsh, and a US dollar near a seven-month high have weighed on crypto for weeks, while capital rotated toward semiconductor and memory-chip stocks tied to the AI buildout.
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How much has Bitcoin lost in the first half of the year?
Bitcoin is on pace to finish Q2 down roughly 12%, on top of a roughly 22% drop in Q1, per Coinglass data, for back-to-back quarterly losses that have happened only twice in BTC's history.
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How are altcoins performing compared to Bitcoin?
Altcoins have fallen harder. Ether is down about 9.5% on the week and roughly 25% in Q2 after a 29% Q1 drop, while dogecoin, HYPE, and XRP posted double-digit weekly losses. Solana and Tron held up better.
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What are spot Bitcoin ETF flows doing?
US spot Bitcoin ETFs have seen persistent outflows through the period, a reversal from the strong inflows that defined much of last year and a key weight on price alongside the stronger dollar.
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What are traders watching into the third quarter?
Whether the ETF outflows and soft demand ease, or whether the weakness that ran through the first half of the year carries into the second half. A sustained break would put the post-halving-year thesis back on the table.
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