Read, Watch or Listen

United States – Bitcoin fell below the $60,000 level during trading on June 25 and June 26, 2026, hitting an intraday low of $58,115.01, its weakest price since September 2024. By Friday afternoon it was trading around $59,244 to $59,599 across major exchanges, down 1.91 percent over 24 hours, 6.20 percent over seven days and 19.94 percent over 30 days, on $1.83 billion in trading volume. The sharp decline triggered algorithmic selling, margin calls and $1.48 billion in cryptocurrency-wide liquidations over 24 hours, including $781 million in long positions and $211 million in short positions. During one four-hour stretch of intense volatility, exchanges forcibly closed $503 million in derivatives contracts, with $486 million of that in long positions and $237 million tied specifically to Bitcoin. United States – The sell-off followed hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data, as the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index rose to 4.1 percent in May 2026, reinforcing expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates elevated. The stronger policy outlook pushed the U.S. Dollar Index to 101 and helped lift the ICE Dollar Index 2.8 percent in June to a 13-month high, pressuring demand for non-yielding digital assets. U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded $469.08 million in net outflows on June 24, and about $10 billion in notional Bitcoin options—mostly out-of-the-money call contracts—expired on Deribit on June 26. The broader market also weakened, with total cryptocurrency capitalization dropping to about $2.044 trillion, Ethereum sliding to $1,557, and 307 alternative tokens falling in price compared with 83 gainers, even as Bitcoin’s dominance edged up to 58.08 percent.

Prepared by Christopher Adams and reviewed by editorial team.