Bitcoin Slips Below $68K as ETFs Bleed $64M, Asian Stocks Decline

Bitcoin, the dominant cryptocurrency with the largest market capitalization, experienced a decline of approximately 2%, bringing its price down to around $67,900. This drop continues the trend of moving away from recent peaks hovering near $72,000. In tandem with this trend, Ether, the second-largest digital coin, also saw a decrease of over 1%, dipping below $3,550 momentarily. The broader CoinDesk 20 Index followed suit, experiencing a loss of around 1% and settling at approximately $2,370 points.

The accumulated losses amounted to $64.9 million on U.S.-based bitcoin ETFs since May 23, marking the first loss reported by Farside Investors. Despite this setback, inflows have been steady, fueled primarily by institutions exploring non-directional trades as opposed to bullish investments in the market.

In the conventional markets, Chinese shares dropped by more than 1%, causing most of the losses in Asian stock markets. This decline came as investors continued to fret over ongoing worries about the real estate sector and news suggesting that the Bank of Japan might reduce its bond purchases this week.

The dollar index, which measures the value of the US dollar against a group of six major currencies, held steady after increasing for two consecutive days. At the same time, investors sought refuge in US Treasuries, driving their prices up and causing yields to decrease. According to TradingView’s data, the yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond dropped by three basis points, reaching 4.45%.

The surge of right-wing parties in recent European elections and France’s unexpected call for a snap poll have raised worries about the unity of the European Union, contributing to market instability.

As a researcher, I’ve been closely monitoring the financial markets, with particular focus on the upcoming events of the past week. On Wednesday, two significant happenings kept investors in a state of anticipation: the release of the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. During this FOMC meeting, the central bank is expected to share its latest quarterly projections, which include the much-discussed interest rate dot plot.