Crypto Majors Fall 3-4%; BTC ETF Outflows Top $1B in Two Days
Cryptocurrency markets experienced a broad decline on Thursday, with Bitcoin slipping below $73,000 to $73,260, down 3.4% in 24 hours, marking its lowest level in six weeks. Ethereum fell below $2,000 for the first time since April, trading at $1,983, down 33% year-to-date. Even HYPE, the year's standout performer up 123% YTD, fell 9% to $56.44. The downturn was driven by two factors: an escalation of Iran-related geopolitical tensions leading to a 2.5% rise in oil prices and a risk-off sentiment across markets, and the worst Bitcoin ETF outflow day of 2026. Tuesday's net outflows hit $733.4 million, the worst single day since January 29. Combined with Monday's $333.6 million outflows, the two-day total exceeds $1 billion. Over eight consecutive trading days, outflows have erased more than $2.6 billion since May 15. Meanwhile, Jefferies projects a surge of crypto public listings could create a $1 trillion public market within five years, citing tokenization and regulatory clarity as catalysts. In political developments, crypto PACs spent over $9 million in Texas primary runoffs, with new Republican-leaning groups emerging alongside bipartisan Fairshake. Additionally, a Google engineer was arrested for insider trading on Polymarket, using confidential data to bet on search trends, netting $1.2 million in profit.
Key facts
- Bitcoin fell 3.4% to $73,260, lowest in 6 weeks; Ethereum below $2,000.
- Bitcoin ETF outflows total $1.07B over two days, worst since January.
- Jefferies projects crypto IPOs could create $1T public market in 5 years.
- Crypto PACs spent $9M in Texas primaries; new GOP-focused groups emerge.
- Google engineer arrested for insider trading on Polymarket, profited $1.2M.