Bitcoin falls below $68,000 as ETF outflows extend to seventh straight day

Bitcoin's value slipped below $68,000 on Saturday, continuing its downturn of over 20% since late October. This move has set the stage for a sixth consecutive weekly decline in cryptocurrency markets. Persistent exchange-traded fund outflows, forced liquidations, and heightened risk aversion have all contributed to the bearish trend.

The largest cryptocurrency was down 3% at $67,239 as of 06:15 EST, following a drop to around $66,500 in Asian trading hours. It reached an intraday low of $66,511.8, its lowest point since August. Meanwhile, institutional demand faced pressure, with U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs reporting $185.45 million in net outflows on Friday, marking seven consecutive trading days of withdrawals.

In total, outflows over these seven sessions since November 5 amounted to $1.91 billion. Despite the outflows, cumulative net inflows stood at $54.63 billion, with total net assets at $86.20 billion. The decline compelled leveraged traders to make forced sales, leading to crypto exchanges liquidating $1.47 billion in positions within a single day, including $1.31 billion in bullish bets.

Liquidation episodes exceeding $500 million in Bitcoin positions have become a recurring issue in the market. Additionally, Anthropic's massive public offering of $64.4 billion and MSCI's removal of Bitcoin among its indexes on November 30 have added to the market's liquidity concerns. The market remains vigilant about the aftermath of the $6.3 billion Binance security breach in October, which has been attributed to the TraderTraitor group.

Binance has reopened withdrawals across 87 networks and aims to restore access to all remaining networks and assets by next week. Historical comparisons suggest that Bitcoin's decline may be similar to the 19% drop prior to SpaceX's IPO, although recovery is not guaranteed. Other major cryptocurrencies also experienced losses alongside Bitcoin on Saturday, with Ether down 2.6% to $1,907.39, XRP declining 3.3% to $0.9893, Solana dropping 6% to $75.83, BNB falling 3.3% to $618.30, Cardano sliding 4.7% to $0.1636, and Dogecoin losing 3.5% to $0.063012.