06/26 update below. This post was originally published on June 24
Bitcoin and crypto prices have fallen sharply, with the bitcoin price plunging to $60,000 as traders brace for a Federal Reserve shock.
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The bitcoin price has broken with the high-growth technology stocks it was previously trading with, falling even as the likes of Elon Musk’s SpaceX climb ahead of what could be a massive game-changer.
Now, as analysts with JPMorgan flag what could be the next bitcoin price catalyst, bitcoin and crypto market watchers are warning a break below $60,000 could trigger a “cascade.”
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U.S. president Donald Trump and his family have gone all in on bitcoin and crypto—though they have failed to help the bitcoin price, which has suffered a crash.
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“The asymmetry is to the downside,” analysts with the Bitfinex bitcoin and crypto exchange said in emailed comments, pointing to Friday’s $10.6 billion quarterly options expiry as acting as a bitcoin price magnet.
“A sustained move below the $60,000 put wall pushes deeper into negative gamma and risks a cascade toward $54,000 to $56,000 near the realised price. An upside squeeze into $66,000 to $68,000 is capped by offers and the flip above.”
06/26 update: Shares of bitcoin-buyer Strategy have fallen sharply this week, plunging to $85 and leaving Michael Saylor’s near-850,000-bitcoin giant nursing stock price losses of 85% from its last summer peak.
“Volatility tests every capital structure. Strategy remains focused on bitcoin, disciplined capital allocation, credit quality, and long-term value creation,” Saylor posted to X. “We appreciate our investors and will continue to execute with transparency and resolve.”
Meanwhile, the company’s controversial perpetual preferred stock, known as stretch, is trading at all-time lows of $75, about 25% below its intended $100 level.
“The wobbly behavior of Strategy continues to scare the market, harkening back to other major blow ups the market has seen,” Alex Blume, the chief executive of bitcoin and crypto investment advisor and derivatives giant Two Prime, said in emailed comments.
“[Strategy’s] preferred equity is trading now at 80 cents on the dollars and their stock has collapsed below $100. The tools available for them to prop up their ponzi scheme are dwindling.”
However, Blume remains upbeat, calling it “a good time to buy” bitcoin.
“Strategy is not a forced seller of actual bitcoin for a long time,” Blume said. “The current drawdown, in relation to Strategy uncertainty, is largely emotional, but not truly a structural issue.”
Saylor hasn’t been able to escape suggestions that Strategy could become this “cycle’s” FTX or suffer the same fate as the terraUSD so-called algorithmic stablecoin, and its support coin luna.
“Bitcoin’s sharp fall coincided with the opening of the U.S. market and a further deviation from par value of Strategy’s [stretch] preference shares,” Alex Kuptsikevich, the FxPro chief market analyst, said via email.
“Concerns are mounting about Strategy’s financial health, as it lacks sufficient dollar reserves to pay dividends and reduce its debt burden, potentially prompting the sale of part of its bitcoin holdings”—something that could trigger a bitcoin price spiral as traders rush to sell ahead of the largest corporate holder of bitcoin.
Meanwhile, U.S. president Donald Trump has refused to sign Congress’ bipartisan housing bill, which includes a four-year ban on a central bank digital currency (CBDC), saying he won’t sign it until the voting identification Save America Act is passed.
“Today’s housing news conference and signing is hereby cancelled until such time as we pass the desperately needed Save America Act, which I consider to be a national emergency,” Trump posted to his Truth Social.
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The bitcoin price has fallen sharply, with a bitcoin price crash predicted to get worse if the bitcoin price drops under $60,000.
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Trump’s refusal to sign the bill could mean he’s also unlikely to sign the bipartisan crypto market structure bill known as the Clarity Act, which many have pinned their hopes of a bitcoin price and crypto market recovery on.
“With the July 4 deadline looming for the Clarity Act, that question is no longer hypothetical. It’s becoming a real strategic consideration,” Javier Martinez, chief executive of crypto platform sFox said in emailed comments.
“At some point, waiting becomes a liability. And if clarity doesn’t come soon, institutions won’t just sit on the sidelines. They’ll go where the rules are. The question isn’t whether capital will move. It’s whether the U.S. will keep it.”