By Caleb Monroe
Bitcoin moved lower on Friday, trading near a four-month low as the largest cryptocurrency extended losses amid sustained institutional selling and an environment of heightened risk aversion. By 02:26 ET (06:26 GMT), Bitcoin had declined 3.9% to $61,524.0.
Market participants pointed to several coincident forces driving the selloff. A prominent corporate holder identified as Strategy disclosed that it had sold part of its Bitcoin holdings earlier in the week, a development that coincided with continued outflows from spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Data from SoSoValue showed that Bitcoin ETFs saw roughly $1.4 billion of outflows this week, marking a fourth consecutive week with more than $1 billion withdrawn.
Geopolitical concerns also played a role. Institutional selling intensified against a backdrop of renewed military action between the United States and Iran and media reports that Iran had paused indirect talks with the U.S. Such uncertainty contributed to broader risk-off positioning across markets and encouraged investors to shed non-yielding assets such as cryptocurrencies.
At the same time, investors appeared to be redirecting capital toward artificial intelligence-focused equities. The article noted a shift in sentiment in favor of AI stocks, bolstered by expectations of major initial public offerings from large technology and AI-related firms. That move toward yield or perceived growth in the AI sector was cited as another factor reducing demand for crypto holdings.
Retail demand for Bitcoin also appeared muted. Coinglass’ Bitcoin Coinbase premium index - which compares the coin’s spot price on the largest U.S. exchange with the global average - indicated that Bitcoin was trading at a sizeable discount on Coinbase, a signal consistent with weaker domestic retail interest.
Altcoins follow Bitcoin lower
Broader cryptocurrency markets fell in line with Bitcoin, with few positive signals to counteract the selling pressure. Ether, the second-largest crypto, slid 7.6% to $1,654.57 and was down nearly 18% for the week, touching a 14-month low. XRP dropped 6% to $1.1169 and was off nearly 17% on the week.
Other major tokens also recorded steep declines on Friday. Solana fell 7.4%, while Cardano plunged more than 18% and reached a level not seen in over five years. BNB decreased 4.4%.
Memecoins were not spared: Dogecoin fell about 7% and the $TRUMP token slid roughly 10%.
Market participants were also awaiting U.S. nonfarm payrolls data, with economic releases expected to influence risk appetite and provide additional cues for allocations across equities and crypto assets.
Context for investors
For institutional investors, the recent flows and corporate selling suggested a retrenchment from spot-focused crypto exposure, while the pivot toward AI-related equities indicated a reallocation of risk budgets. For retail holders, the discount observed on Coinbase signaled subdued domestic demand relative to global pricing.
Overall, the convergence of ETF outflows, high-profile corporate sales, geopolitical friction and sector rotation created downward pressure across the cryptocurrency complex heading into the weekend.