BTC plunges 0.75% in 15 minutes: continued outflow of institutional funds and macro headwinds combine to trigger sell-off

During the 15-minute period from 14:30 to 14:45 UTC on June 26, 2026, BTC dropped sharply by 0.75%, with a price range of 59551.7-60068.3 USDT and a volatility of 0.86%. This abnormal movement occurred against the backdrop of BTC having corrected approximately 23% from its early June highs, with the market repeatedly contesting around the key $60,000 support level, leading to increased volatility.

The main driver of this abnormal movement was the continued withdrawal of institutional funds. Spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced their longest continuous redemption cycle in history in early June—11 consecutive trading days of net outflows, totaling approximately $3.5 billion in net outflows. BlackRock's IBIT recorded a single-day net outflow of $389 million, one of the largest single-day outflows on record. Institutional investors, as the main buying force in the market, have been withdrawing continuously, leading to severely insufficient market absorption capacity and creating structural selling pressure.

Secondly, the persistent suppressing effect of macroeconomic policies is evident. Federal Reserve Chairman Powell issued hawkish signals, increasing the market's expectation of a rate hike, enhancing demand for the safe-haven dollar, and raising the opportunity cost of holding BTC in a high-interest-rate environment. At the same time, geopolitical tensions (particularly events related to Iran) have further weakened investor risk appetite. Technically, the $60,000 level, as an important psychological threshold, has been repeatedly tested, and the combination of profit-taking and stop-loss selling at this level has amplified short-term volatility.

Despite short-term pressure, on-chain data shows that the long-term holding structure remains stable. Whale holdings have reached a four-month high of 7.17 million BTC, indicating that large holders are still strategically accumulating, and network fundamentals remain resilient.

The main current risks are: if institutional funds continue to see net outflows, it will exert sustained downward pressure on prices; if the key support level of $60,000 is breached, it may trigger a new wave of programmatic selling. Going forward, focus should be on daily ETF fund flows, changes in exchange BTC reserves, price performance in the $60,000-$70,000 range, and macroeconomic policy direction.