Bitcoin dropped to just over $59,000 on Wednesday, approaching new lows for 2026. The decline came alongside a surging US dollar, which hit a 13-month high against a basket of foreign currencies, and continued outflows from spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Cooling oil prices — driven by a US-Iran memorandum of understanding that temporarily reopened the Strait of Hormuz — might normally be good news for risk assets. But the dollar’s strength is putting intense pressure on non-yield-bearing assets like BTC. Gold also fell below $4,000 for the first time in seven months.
Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, has slowed its Bitcoin buying pace to its lowest level in 18 months. That, combined with ETF outflows, is fueling short-term downside fears. Traders are questioning whether any bounce back above $60,000 will stick.
The broader macro picture isn’t helping Bitcoin’s case either. Inflation is still far from the Fed’s 2% target, and unemployment benefit claims dropped by 4,000 last week, suggesting the economy isn’t slowing. That means higher rates for longer — good for fixed-income, bad for scarce assets. Meanwhile, AI infrastructure spending continues to pull capital toward tech stocks. Micron’s market cap hit $1.16 trillion after a 265% six-month gain.
Still, the US money supply (M2) grew to $23.05 trillion in May, and some analysts argue that liquidity growth will eventually benefit Bitcoin and other alternative assets — just not in the short term.
