Bitcoin Plunges to $59,000, Halving in Value and Hitting 52-Week Low

Continuous Decline Since Last October's Peak

$2.3 Billion Outflow from Spot Bitcoin ETFs

Bitcoin, the top cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has fallen below $60,000, hitting a 52-week low.

On February 6th, the bitcoin price was displayed on the electronic billboard at Bithumb Lounge in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. This is a stock photo unrelated to the article. Photo by Yonhap News.

According to CoinMarketCap, a virtual asset information provider, Bitcoin dropped to the $59,000 range on the 6th and has since fluctuated between $59,000 and $64,000 as of June 13th.

Bitcoin has been on a downward trend for 52 consecutive weeks after hitting an all-time high of $126,198 on October 7th last year. The current price has fallen by more than 50% from its peak.

The market attributes the price weakness to several independent factors: outflows from spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), the decision by Strategy—a company holding Bitcoin—to sell a portion of its holdings, and the listing of SpaceX.

According to Tiger Research, more than $2.3 billion (approximately KRW 3.5 trillion) flowed out of spot Bitcoin ETFs last month. This marks the largest monthly outflow so far this year.

Gwangho Ahn, a researcher at Tiger Research, analyzed, "Up until last year, the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs brought inflows of institutional funds, which boosted the market. However, this year, institutional funds have been leading the market exit," adding, "Price declines resulting from fund outflows have also triggered cascading liquidations of leveraged positions in the virtual asset futures market, amplifying the drop."

The launch of perpetual futures products related to stocks by overseas derivatives exchanges is also cited as a factor weakening Bitcoin market liquidity. In particular, this month Binance listed a series of perpetual futures products that allow up to 20x leveraged investment in companies such as Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, and Hyundai Motor.

Looking ahead, the future price trend of Bitcoin is expected to be heavily influenced by whether the U.S. Senate passes the "Digital Asset Market Clarity Act" and ongoing discussions on "Strategic Bitcoin Reserves (SBR)."

Minseung Kim, Head of Research at Korbit, pointed to the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve policy and the recently introduced "American Reserve Modernization Act (ARMA)" as key variables for the virtual asset market. He predicted, "If Bitcoin is established as a strategic asset for the United States, not only the government but also many financial institutions could include Bitcoin in their asset allocation." He added, "This could have an even greater impact on the market than the previous approval of spot ETFs."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.