NextFin News - Bitcoin plummeted below the $60,000 threshold on Friday, marking its lowest valuation since U.S. President Trump secured re-election in November 2024. The digital asset, which had spent much of the past year buoyed by expectations of a crypto-friendly executive branch, surrendered the psychologically significant level as a confluence of institutional selling and technical "negative gamma" effects triggered a cascade of liquidations totaling $1.76 billion within a 24-hour window.
The sell-off intensified following reports that Strategy, a major crypto treasury firm, executed its first sale of Bitcoin holdings in nearly four years. While the volume of the sale was described as relatively small, the symbolic shift from a "perma-bull" institutional holder sparked immediate jitters across spot and derivative markets. According to data from prediction market Kalshi, the probability of Bitcoin trading with a "four" in front of its price in 2026 has jumped to 27%, a sharp increase from the single digits seen earlier this spring.
Market structure played a decisive role in accelerating the decline. Analysts at Deribit noted that Bitcoin’s drop below $68,000 earlier this week entered a "negative gamma" zone, where market makers are forced to sell the underlying asset as prices fall to hedge their own options exposure. This mechanical selling pressure created a self-reinforcing loop, pushing the price through support levels at $65,000 and $62,000 before the $60,000 floor finally gave way during Friday's session.
The current downturn represents a stark reversal for a market that had largely priced in a "Trump trade" premium. Since U.S. President Trump took office in January 2025, the administration’s rhetoric regarding a national strategic Bitcoin reserve and the easing of regulatory oversight had served as a primary catalyst for capital inflows. However, the lack of concrete legislative progress on these fronts, combined with a broader retreat from risk assets as the Federal Reserve maintains a restrictive stance, has left the crypto market vulnerable to a "buy the rumor, sell the news" correction.
Despite the bearish momentum, some institutional observers suggest the correction may be a necessary flushing of over-leveraged positions. While the $60,000 breach is significant, Bitcoin remains well above its pre-election levels of mid-2024. The immediate focus for traders now shifts to the $58,000 support zone; failure to hold this level could expose the asset to a deeper retracement toward the $50,000 mark, particularly if institutional outflows from spot ETFs continue to accelerate in the coming sessions.
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