Bitcoin slips below the $60,000 mark, marking its lowest valuation since October 2024. A combination of factors has recently pressured bitcoin, including its largest purchaser becoming a seller, ETF investors exiting the market, and rising concerns over potential interest rate hikes. What to note: — Bitcoin has dropped beneath $60,000 for the first time since October 2024. — This week alone, it has decreased nearly 20% following news that its biggest buyer (Strategy) has shifted to selling. — Outflows from ETFs, fears of interest rate increases, and speculative capital moving towards the AI sector have intensified the downward pressure on bitcoin. Bitcoin The leading cryptocurrency has experienced a nearly 20% decline in just the past week and has now fallen over 52% since reaching its peak above $126,000 in October. Several challenges have emerged for bitcoin recently, primarily with its largest single buyer, Michael Saylor’s Strategy, transitioning to selling. Furthermore, spot bitcoin ETFs have faced ongoing outflows as investors redirected their funds towards the booming artificial intelligence sector and related equities. Persistently high inflation and a robust labor market report released on Friday have also led investors to reevaluate U.S. monetary policy directions. Markets that previously anticipated rate cuts earlier this year have now fully adjusted to expect the Federal Reserve’s next move to be a rate hike. Consequently, U.S. stocks have seen a decline in momentum following a significant rise to record levels, dampening risk appetite across various markets. The Nasdaq has fallen by more than 2% on Friday. Crypto investors are also dealing with renewed worries about whether advancements in artificial intelligence and quantum computing could reveal vulnerabilities in crypto protocols. The privacy-centric cryptocurrency Zcash (ZEC) plummeted over 40% overnight after a serious vulnerability was uncovered with assistance from Anthropic’s latest Opus 4.8 AI model.