Bitcoin slid to roughly $59,000 after a US jobs report surprised investors, and the selloff is getting extra fuel from two pressure points the market can’t ignore: sustained Bitcoin ETF outflows and a wave of forced selling as BTC broke key technical levels.
Michael Saylor, via his public pushback after Strategy sold a portion of its Bitcoin holdings, tried to shift attention away from “blame the seller.” He pointed instead to an “unprecedented flow of money into AI infrastructure” and argued the drop looks more like capital rotation than structural damage. SBI Holdings chair Yoshitaka Kitao echoed a similar theme, tying potential capital drains to major upcoming tech IPOs including SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI.
The trigger was macro, not just crypto noise
The immediate catalyst, according to the report, came from the US jobs data.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics said non-farm payrolls rose to 172,000 in May 2026, more than double the Wall Street estimate of 85,000. The unemployment rate stayed at 4.3%. BNP Paribas said the print creates room for as many as three Federal Reserve rate hikes, a path that has historically weighed on risk assets like Bitcoin.
The market response was quick. After the release, Bitcoin fell from about $62,500 to around $59,000. At the time of reporting, BTC was trading near $59,990, down 6% over 24 hours, and at its lowest point since October 2024.
Bitcoin ETFs keep bleeding
Macro pressure may set the tempo, but ETF flows are turning it into a longer song.
The report says Bitcoin ETFs have logged 14 consecutive sessions of outflows, with cumulative negative flows approaching $5 billion. Bitget CEO Gracy Chen singled out these outflows as a significant factor in the wider crypto decline.
On Friday alone, the report cites CoinGlass data showing $545 million in total liquidations. Long positions accounted for $444 million, meaning a large share of the forced selling came from price moving down through levels that traders had used to manage risk.
A technical break compounds the move
The selloff also appears to be feeding on mechanical selling.
The report states that Bitcoin broke through the monthly EMA50 support around $65K, then moved quickly toward the $59,000 area. That matters because support levels are often where liquidity thins out and where automated systems can cascade.
Whether $59,000 holds as support is still an open question in the report. What’s clear is that the combination of macro pressure, persistent ETF redemptions, and capital-flow shifts has left the market fragile.
Saylor and Kitao argue it’s rotation
Saylor briefly became a lightning rod after Strategy’s sale. TV personality Jim Cramer went as far as saying Saylor had “murdered Bitcoin,” a claim Saylor denied outright.
Saylor’s counter is that capital markets are funding AI infrastructure at historic scale, which he pegs at roughly $400 billion over six months, and that BTC is getting hit by a rotation of capital rather than “structural damage.” Kitao’s framing is similar, pointing to IPO timing and expected investor drawdowns toward high-profile AI-related businesses.
For now, the data in this report is straightforward. Jobs surprised higher. ETFs have been bleeding for 14 straight sessions. Long liquidations have added urgency. The market is not waiting for a narrative to catch up.
Key figures from the report
| Item | What the report says |
|---|---|
| US non-farm payrolls (May 2026) | 172,000, vs. 85,000 expected |
| Unemployment rate | 4.3% (unchanged) |
| BTC move after report | From about $62,500 to around $59,000 |
| BTC price at reporting time | About $59,990, down ~6% in 24 hours |
| Bitcoin ETF outflows | 14 consecutive sessions, cumulative near $5B |
| Friday liquidations (CoinGlass) | $545M total, $444M from long positions |
| Technical level mentioned | Monthly EMA50 support near $65K |
Featured image from Unsplash. Chart from TradingView.