Deutsche Bank said Bitcoin’s drop below $60,000 on June 5, its lowest level since late 2024, points to a mix of macro and structural pressure rather than a single market shock. In the bank’s view, BTC is increasingly trading like an institutional risk asset, with pricing shaped less by retail speculation and more by fund flows and broader portfolio allocation decisions.
The report tied the latest sell-off to several forces hitting at once: a hawkish turn in Federal Reserve expectations, continued outflows from U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, a confidence hit after Strategy’s first BTC sale since 2022, and a wider shift in investor capital toward artificial intelligence. Put together, those factors have weighed on Bitcoin’s near-term pricing.
Fed expectations shift the framework for BTC
Deutsche Bank economists now expect the Federal Reserve to raise rates twice in 2026, reversing earlier calls for easier policy. The bank said that change removes an important support that had helped sustain institutional demand for Bitcoin and other risk assets. For large allocators, interest-rate expectations affect how BTC is ranked against other high-beta exposures.
In Tuesday’s report, analyst Marion Laboure wrote that Bitcoin is not disappearing but maturing into an institutional asset whose price is increasingly set by fund flows, Fed expectations, competing risk themes and legislative outcomes. She added that the marginal buyer is no longer a retail trader, but an ETF allocator or a corporate treasury weighing Bitcoin against other opportunities.
Six straight weeks of ETF outflows add to downside pressure
According to Deutsche Bank, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs have posted six consecutive weeks of net outflows totaling about $6 billion. Because ETF demand has become a major part of Bitcoin price formation, the reversal in flows is intensifying downside pressure. Bitcoin briefly fell below $60,000 on June 5 and then recovered toward the $62,000 to $63,000 range, but it remains more than 50% below its October 2025 record high.
At the time of publication, Bitcoin was down about 3.5% over 24 hours, trading near $62,600. Some investors see signs of stabilization around current levels, though analysts cited in the report said the near-term path still depends on whether institutional demand returns and whether macro conditions improve.
AI is competing for the same speculative capital
Deutsche Bank also pointed to rising competition from artificial intelligence-related investments. The report said major U.S. technology companies are expected to spend more than $700 billion in 2026 on AI infrastructure, and investors are increasingly treating Bitcoin and AI-linked equities as competing destinations for speculative capital. That leaves BTC facing pressure not only from rates and ETF flows, but also from a rotation inside the broader risk trade.