Bitcoin drops below $62k

The world’s largest crypto declined 1.7% to $61,721.0

Bitcoin dropped on Thursday, remaining close to its lowest levels this year and largely lagging a rally in broader risk-on markets as investors steadily pulled out more capital from crypto exchange-traded funds.

The world’s largest crypto declined 1.7% to $61,721.0 by 06:42 GMT. It had briefly dropped below $60,000 on Wednesday, and remained close to a 1-½ year low hit earlier in June.

Crypto markets remained under pressure from growing expectations that the U.S. central bank will either keep interest rates high for longer, or even raise them further this year. Focus was on upcoming U.S. PCE price index data for more cues on rates.

Bitcoin’s spot exchange-traded funds clocked higher outflows on Wednesday, amid a continued pivot into artificial intelligence stocks and assets with clearer fundamentals.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs saw an outflow of $469 million on Wednesday, their biggest outflow since June 2.

The ETFs were headed for a seventh straight week of outflows, as crypto lost favour in both institutional and retail markets.

Glassnode data showed the crypto continued to trade at a major discount on Coinbase in comparison to the world average, signalling limited retail demand in the U.S.

Crypto was seen steadily losing steam this year as investors pivoted into assets with much clearer fundamentals. AI stocks were a clear target of this trade, with chipmaking stocks worldwide rallying sharply on Thursday following strong earnings from memory chip maker Micron.

Broader crypto prices largely dithered on Thursday. World no.2 crypto Ether dropped 1.2% to $1,652.47.

XRP and Solana fell slightly, as did Cardano and BNB.

Among memecoins, Dogecoin shed 2.2%.