What happened: Bitcoin dropped roughly 2% on Wednesday to hover near $75,500 per token.
What’s behind the move: Bitcoin has decoupled from the tech sector as a rally in semiconductors pushed the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) to record highs. Instead, the token has fallen about 7% over the past two weeks after climbing above $81,000.
Investors have been digesting digital asset treasury Strategy’s (MSTR) pause on bitcoin purchases last week, signaling the company may be prioritizing debt reduction.
Wall Street has closely tied bitcoin’s performance to Strategy’s buying activity, with Bernstein analysts earlier this year describing the company as the “Bitcoin central bank of last resort.”
What else you need to know: A massive $1.3 billion trade involving BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) took place Tuesday morning, making it one of the largest off-exchange bitcoin ETF transactions since the funds launched more than a year ago.
The trade came as US spot bitcoin ETFs continued to see investor outflows.
Fundstrat head of digital assets Sean Farrell noted recent market signals suggest bitcoin could face more turbulence in the near term.
“On net, this type of price action basically suggests a couple of choppy weeks ahead,” Farrell said on Tuesday night.
A 3D rendering of a bitcoin concept.
(BlackJack3D via Getty Images)
Ines Ferre is a senior business reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X at @ines_ferre.
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