Bitcoin Drops Below $60,000, Faces Rare Back-to-Back Quarterly Losses
What happened: Bitcoin closed Q2 2026 at roughly $59,940, down 12% for the quarter and extending a rare streak of consecutive quarterly declines (Q1: -22%).
What happened: Bitcoin closed Q2 2026 at roughly $59,940, down 12% for the quarter and extending a rare streak of consecutive quarterly declines (Q1: -22%). Ether fared worse, losing 25% in Q2. This marks only the second time in Bitcoin's history that it has posted back-to-back losing quarters to start a year, breaking a long-standing pattern of Q2 strength. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw 13 straight days of outflows, totaling $4.37 billion in June, with $1.79 billion leaving in the final week. Altcoins also suffered, with weekly losses ranging from -1.5% (TRX) to -11.7% (DOGE).
Why it matters: The persistent outflows from ETFs and the break in historical quarterly performance patterns suggest a shift in market sentiment, potentially driven by macroeconomic uncertainty and capital rotation into AI and semiconductor equities. Technical analysts highlight $59,000 as a key support level. The lack of a bullish counter-narrative, combined with a strong U.S. dollar and hawkish Fed signals, underscores the fragility of crypto markets entering H2 2026.
Source: CoinDesk