Bitcoin Rebounds Above $60,000 After Posting 14% Quarterly Loss

Bitcoin rose nearly 4% on Wednesday, reclaiming the key $60,000 psychological level after suffering a significant quarterly decline. The leading cryptocurrency traded at $60,807.4 in late trading, bouncing from a 22-month low of $57,803.0 hit earlier in the session, according to Investing.com data.

The modest rally follows a difficult period for the digital asset. Bitcoin slid 14% during the June quarter, extending its year-to-date losses to 32%. The cryptocurrency remains more than 50% below its record high as investors grapple with a challenging macroeconomic environment.

Persistent Macroeconomic Headwinds

A primary driver of the recent weakness has been the prospect of higher-for-longer U.S. interest rates. The Federal Reserve's hawkish stance in June has bolstered expectations for at least one more rate hike this year, increasing the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets like Bitcoin.

Investor appetite has also been dampened by a rotation into high-performing artificial intelligence stocks, which offer clearer fundamentals compared to more speculative crypto assets. This shift in risk preference has contributed to sustained selling pressure in the digital asset market.

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Record Outflows Hit Spot ETFs

Institutional sentiment has soured, reflected in historic withdrawals from U.S.-based spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). According to data from SoSoValue, these investment products experienced their largest-ever monthly outflows in June.

• Net outflows for June totaled $4.5 billion, surpassing the previous record of $3.48 billion.
• The funds saw nine consecutive days of withdrawals, with $222.6 million pulled on June 30 alone.
• BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) accounted for $3.55 billion of the month's total outflows.

Despite the recent selling, cumulative net inflows since the ETFs launched in January 2024 remain positive at over $51 billion. However, analysts at Citi recently cut their 12-month Bitcoin price target to $82,000 from $112,000, citing the negative ETF flows and weakening investor demand as key headwinds.