🔥 Bitcoin briefly dips below $66,000 as ETF outflows, geopolitical fears weigh on crypto

Bitcoin briefly fell below $66,000 late Tuesday before slightly rebounding, while Ethereum and other major cryptocurrencies also declined, as traders continue to digest Strategy's recent bitcoin sale alongside broader geopolitical uncertainty.

The world's largest cryptocurrency (BTC) dropped to a low of around $65,700 Tuesday night before rebounding slightly to $66,460 as of 1:00 a.m. ET Wednesday, according to The Block's BTC price page.

Ethereum (ETH) slipped 7.1% to $1,849, while BNB lost 7.2% to trade at $635. XRP fell 4.8%, and Solana declined 7.7%.

Meanwhile, U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded $519.2 million in net outflows on Tuesday, extending their negative flow streak to 12 consecutive days, according to SoSoValue data. Spot Ethereum ETFs also posted $90.2 million in net outflows, marking their 16th straight day of outflows.

Dominick John, an analyst of Zeus Research, told The Block that the crypto decline was mainly driven by heavy institutional exchange-traded funds outflows, aggressive long liquidations, and broader macro de-risking that reduced liquidity across the crypto market.

"Forced unwinds in leveraged positions accelerated downside pressure within the major assets," said John.

Andri Fauzan Adziima, research lead at Bitrue Research Institute, also said that fresh airstrikes in the Middle East pushed oil prices higher and intensified risk-off sentiment, "sparking massive long liquidations, accelerating ETF outflows, and exposing BTC's high-beta risk-asset behavior over safe-haven traits.

Notably, WTI crude futures rose 1.13% to $94.82, while Brent crude climbed 1.04% to $97.07 per barrel.

Asian equities traded mixed on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 2.95% during intraday trading to hit a record high, with markets still open. China's CSI 300 gained 1.13%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 1.56%.

$BTC