The crypto crash of 2026 is picking up steam. And investors are abandoning top Bitcoin exchange-traded funds as prices continue to slide.
Bitcoin is now hovering just above $60,000, its lowest level since October 2024, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Bitcoin even briefly dipped below $60,000 earlier Friday. The price of the world's most valuable digital currency has now tumbled 18% during its six-day losing streak and has plunged more than 30% this year.
Investors have been pulling money from top Bitcoin exchange-traded funds. The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund, Cathie Wood's ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, and the Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF have all suffered notable outflows during Bitcoin's recent losing streak.
The iShares Bitcoin Trust, the world's biggest crypto ETF with about $50 billion in assets, saw more than $3.1 billion leave between May 18 and June 3, according to crypto data firm The Block.
Major crypto stocks such as brokerage Coinbase Global and Bitcoin miners MARA Holdings and Riot Platforms are suffering, too. Coinbase, for example, tumbled 9% Friday and is down more than 20% in just the past five days.
Why has Bitcoin suddenly lost its appeal? A couple of factors are at play. The recent selloff of big chip stocks such as Broadcom have pressured Bitcoin and other top cryptos like Ethereum. The semiconductor sector's slide is a sign of wariness with riskier assets in general -- and Bitcoin tends to be at the top of that list.
Some say investors may also need to sell assets like Bitcoin to have some dry powder ready to try to buy SpaceX as Elon Musk's rocket/AI giant gets ready for its eagerly awaited initial public offering on June 12. Claude developer Anthropic also recently filed confidentially for an IPO, and there is speculation that OpenAI owner ChatGPT will also soon look to go public.
Richard Green, director of institutional at RootstockLabs, a Bitcoin infrastructure company, says institutional investment flows are helping drive the crypto's selloff.
"One big reason for the BTC weakness is the rush to find liquidity ahead of several anticipated IPOs, including SpaceX," he said. "It appears as though investors are selling BTC for deploying capital into these forthcoming public offerings."
A recent Bitcoin sale by Michael Saylor's Strategy, a major crypto investor and Bitcoin evangelist, hasn't helped sentiment either. The move might have some traders questioning if proponents of HODL -- crypto investor lingo for "never sell Bitcoin" -- are finally changing their tune, given the recent weakness.
"No firm with investors or shareholders can hold on to its Bitcoin forever," said Shawn Young, chief analyst with MEXC Research, a crypto exchange, in a recent report. Still, "the uncertainty around [Strategy's] position may cause investors to rethink their loyalty to the coin," he added.
Of course, this isn't the first time that Bitcoin, a notoriously volatile asset, has experienced a major pullback in a short period. Crypto bulls note that Bitcoin has often been subject to sharp swings and has eventually bounced back.
Matt Mena, senior crypto research strategist at 21Shares, a crypto ETF firm, said he still thinks Bitcoin will rebound to $100,000 by year's end. He said the crypto remains the best hedge against pullbacks in the dollar or other major global currencies.
"The need for a non-sovereign...asset that can serve as a potential hedge against debasement is more important than ever," he said.
But other cryptos, including XRP, Solana, Hyperliquid, and Dogecoin, have all fallen in the past week, too. The market is suddenly more nervous about the possibility of higher interest rates following Friday's surprisingly strong jobs report. Rising rates tend to be bad for Bitcoin because it makes high-yielding bonds more attractive as a flight-to-safety trade. Bitcoin tends to be more of a "risk-on" asset that is highly correlated to stocks, particularly tech and other growth names.
So conservative investors may want to steer clear of Bitcoin and other cryptos. The selling doesn't appear to be over yet.