Bitcoin’s Brutal Week: $3 Billion in Liquidations, ETF Exodus, and a Historic Demand Collapse
05.06.2026 - 18:56:51 | boerse-global.de
The selloff in Bitcoin has reached a ferocity not seen since the Terra collapse, with over $3 billion in leveraged positions wiped out across crypto markets over the past several days. The largest single-day liquidation event hit Friday, when roughly $1.5 billion in positions were forced to unwind, and the carnage extended into the start of this week with another $1.8 billion disappearing between June 3 and 4.
The catalyst was unmistakable: the U.S. economy added 172,000 jobs in May, more than double the 85,000 economists had forecast. The strong labor data crushed any lingering hope for an early rate cut from the Federal Reserve, sending the 10-year Treasury yield up six basis points to 4.54 percent and boosting the dollar. Risk assets took a hit across the board — the Nasdaq 100 fell 1.2 percent — but Bitcoin bore the brunt, plunging to as low as $60,769 on Friday and logging a weekly loss of nearly 17 percent.
What makes this drawdown especially troubling is the collapse in underlying demand. On-chain data from CryptoQuant shows global Bitcoin demand tumbled by roughly 501,000 coins over the past 30 days — the sharpest contraction since May 2022, when Terra’s ecosystem imploded. Spot demand alone dropped by 272,000 BTC, while futures demand slid another 229,000 BTC. Short-term holders capitulated in force: on June 4, around 53,800 Bitcoin moved onto exchanges at a loss, the most painful flush for that cohort in 2026. The realized profit-loss ratio also flashed a warning, dropping to roughly minus 1.3 on a logarithmic scale — a level last seen in 2016.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Bitcoin?
Institutional investors are adding to the pressure. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs have now logged net outflows for 13 consecutive trading days through June 3, with a cumulative $4.4 billion exiting the products. BlackRock’s IBIT, the market leader, accounted for about 75 percent of those outflows — roughly $3.3 billion. A brief reprieve arrived on June 4 when IBIT recorded a tiny net inflow of $3.05 million, but that did little to reverse the broader trend. The total net assets of the U.S. spot ETF complex have shrunk from around $104 billion in mid-May to roughly $80.40 billion today.
The sentiment hit another symbolic blow when Strategy Inc. — formerly MicroStrategy — disclosed its first net sale of Bitcoin since late 2022. The company offloaded just 32 BTC between May 26 and 31, raising about $2.5 million at an average price of $77,135 to fund dividend payments on its STRK preferred shares. The volume is trivial relative to its hoard of 843,706 BTC, but the psychological impact is significant for a firm that had positioned itself as an unyielding long-term holder. With an average purchase price of $75,699, Strategy now sits on an unrealized loss of roughly $10.8 billion. Analysts at Standard Chartered, however, take a contrarian view, suggesting that such widespread pain could signal a potential bottom.
Technically, Bitcoin is stretched to the breaking point. The relative strength index has fallen to 15 on some readings and 17.3 on others — deep into oversold territory. The price is trading 20 to 23 percent below its 200-day moving average, and Bitcoin now sits below all major moving averages. The immediate support lies at $60,000, a level reinforced by more than $1.2 billion in notional open interest on put options at that strike on Deribit. A break below that threshold could trigger a cascade of hedging activity and accelerate selling. On the upside, Bitcoin must first reclaim $63,162 and then clear resistance near $65,000 to gain any breathing room.
Yet the picture is not entirely grim. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management and Galaxy Digital announced a partnership on Friday that allows Morgan Stanley clients to lend Bitcoin and other digital assets to Galaxy in exchange for shares of the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust. The minimum transaction size has been cut from $25 million to $5 million, and onboarding times have been slashed by 75 percent. Big banks, it seems, continue to build out their crypto infrastructure even as the market endures its most punishing stretch in years. Whether that institutional groundwork can eventually absorb the current wave of selling — or whether the $60,000 floor gives way — is the defining question for Bitcoin in the weeks ahead.
Ad
Bitcoin Stock: New Analysis - 5 June
Fresh Bitcoin information released. What's the impact for investors? Our latest independent report examines recent figures and market trends.
