Bitcoin drops toward $69,000 as Saylor sale spooks investors while AI tokens buck the trend
Key takeaways
- Seven of the past eight four-hour candles have closed red, leaving the largest cryptocurrency down more than 2% since midnight UTC.
- The move was compounded by growing unease over Strategy's (MSTR) bitcoin thesis after the largest publicly traded holder of the cryptocurrency sold $2.5 million worth of the token.
- Ether (ETH) tracked the slide, shedding around 1.7% since midnight UTC and continuing to trade below the key $2,000 level.
The price of bitcoin fell to its lowest since April 7 as Strategy's sale dented sentiment, while AI tokens H and NEAR surged and De Fi TVL hit a 20-month low.By Oliver Knight, Omkar Godbole|Edited by Sheldon Reback Jun 2, 2026, 10:00 a.m. 2 min read Make preferred on Bitcoin price (Coin Desk Data)What to know: Bitcoin broke below $70,000 for the first time since April 7, with seven of the past eight four-hour candles closing red.AI tokens bucked the trend as Humanity Protocol (H) and Near Protocol (NEAR) advanced over 24 hours.DeFi is deteriorating, with total value locked across all protocols sliding to some $78 billion, the least since October 2024.Bitcoin BTC$69,585.19 fell to its lowest level since April 7 on Tuesday, breaking below $70,000 in a downswing that has accelerated sharply since Sunday. Seven of the past eight four-hour candles have closed red, leaving the largest cryptocurrency down more than 2% since midnight UTC.
The move was compounded by growing unease over Strategy's (MSTR) bitcoin thesis after the largest publicly traded holder of the cryptocurrency sold $2.5 million worth of the token. That's seen as a signal of potentially more sales after $30 million of BTC was transferred to a Coinbase Prime wallet last week.
Ether (ETH) tracked the slide, shedding around 1.7% since midnight UTC and continuing to trade below the key $2,000 level.