Bitcoin flat, stays near annual lows

A sharp pick-up in capital outflows from spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds also pressured the world’s largest crypto, with institutional selling in the sector showing few signs of slowing after two straight months of outflows

Bitcoin moved little on Tuesday, staying pinned near annual lows as heightened Iran-U.S. tensions and concerns over rising inflation and interest rates kept markets largely averse towards speculative plays like cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin was flat at $62,778.5 by 05:19 GMT.

Bitcoin moved little as risk appetite was quashed by continued military action between Iran and U.S., with the two countries also maintaining conflicting stances on the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran said it had again closed the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping route, while the U.S. president claimed that the waterway remained open.

The U.S. president’s comments came as the country carried out attacks on Iran, with Tehran retaliating by hitting U.S. military bases.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs saw $424.7 million in outflows on Monday, after seeing outflows for eight of the nine prior weeks, data from SoSoValue showed.

Top corporate holder Strategy Inc disclosed on Monday it had raised about $466.7 million by selling its class A common stock between July 6 and July 12.

The company also made no Bitcoin purchases during the period, and had last sold 2,225 coins at the beginning of July.

Strategy has become another pain point for Bitcoin, after the company began selling some of its holdings in June to meet mounting dividend and debt commitments. The company funded its Bitcoin purchases largely through sales of debt and preferred stock, and now faces dividend payments and debt repayment commitments.

Investors have also questioned the long-term viability of Strategy’s Bitcoin hoarding, given that it requires Bitcoin’s price to keep rising to be viable. Bitcoin is trading roughly 50% off a record high hit in October.