Why Is Bitcoin (BTC) Falling? Strategy’s (MSTR) Sale, Rotation to AI Stocks, and More

Bitcoin (BTC-USD), the largest cryptocurrency, saw its value plunge by more than 16% last week. In fact, it fell below $60,000, declining to its lowest intraday level since October 2024. BTC has plunged around 30% year-to-date and is down significantly from its all-time high of around $126,000 in October 2025. While a small sale by Bitcoin treasury company Strategy (MSTR), founded by Michael Saylor, triggered the selloff, several other factors weighed on the sentiment of Bitcoin and crypto investors.

Key Factors Dragging Down Bitcoin

• Strategy’s BTC Sale: A June 1 SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) filing revealed that Strategy offloaded 32 coins for $2.5 million between May 26 and May 31. This marked the second time that the company sold BTC (previously offloaded in 2022), marking a shift from Saylor’s longstanding “never sell” Bitcoin stance. The company has recently indicated a change in its strategy, saying that it is ready to offload BTC if it improves Bitcoin-per-share metrics, helps pay dividends, or bolsters the company’s financial position. Although a small sale, the change in the stance of the largest corporate Bitcoin owner impacted investor sentiment.
• Rotation to AI Stocks and IPOs: The pullback in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is also being driven by a shift of investor capital toward AI stocks, particularly AI infrastructure players. Analysts also believe that investors are gearing up to pour their money into lucrative IPOs, such as the public listing of Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
• Regulatory Uncertainty: One of the major factors that sparked investor interest in BTC last year was the expectation of favorable regulations and policy clarity under the Trump administration. While some progress has been made in this regard, regulatory uncertainty persists, as lawmakers remain divided over major provisions of the crypto market-structure bill known as the Clarity Act.
• Macro Pressures: A stronger-than-anticipated May jobs report sparked a rise in Treasury yields and raised concerns about higher-for-longer interest rates, which is unfavorable for riskier assets like crypto. Moreover, the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict has also weighed on BTC.
• Institutional Selloff: Spot Bitcoin ETFs (exchange-traded funds) have experienced notable outflows as institutional investors reduced their holdings. According to Reuters, there have been net outflows of more than $2.7 ⁠billion in the week to Thursday, bringing the net outflow for 2026 to $3.1 billion.

Given multiple headwinds, critics expect Bitcoin to remain under pressure.

Copyright © 2026, TipRanks. All rights reserved.