An analysis said bitcoin has entered a high-risk zone as outflows from U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) continue.

Cointelegraph reported on Monday that crypto analytics firm Swissblock said its bitcoin risk index rose to 33 out of 100, entering a high-risk zone.

Swissblock said institutional distribution selling was behind periods when selling pressure structurally overwhelms buying pressure. It said strong accumulation appeared in March and April, but the market returned to a distribution-selling phase in May. It also said ETF fund flows were worsening as the risk index moved into the high-risk zone.

The index is an in-house measure used to gauge overall risk levels in the bitcoin market. It measures the relative balance between selling and buying to show the risk of buying or holding bitcoin now. Swissblock said demand for spot bitcoin ETFs was no longer effectively absorbing selling pressure, and that if ETF support weakens, the risk index could rise faster.

Glassnode said it recorded net outflows from U.S. bitcoin ETFs on nearly every trading day since May 7. It described that as a sign of sustained institutional selling that has lasted for more than 2 weeks. An assessment said institutions' risk appetite remained sensitive, with more than $2 billion leaving spot ETFs over the past 2 weeks.

Jeff Coe (제프 코), chief analyst at CoinEx, said the broader crypto market remained in a wait-and-see phase without a clear direction. Reports of additional U.S. air strikes on Iran emerged on Monday morning, and bitcoin fell about 1 percent from above $77,000 to below $76,500 on Coinbase. Bitcoin prices have stayed range-bound for about 4 months.

U.S. Central Command said the attack targeting Iran's missile facilities and a ship that attempted to install mines was for self-defence and was meant to protect U.S. forces from threats by Iranian forces. Coe said investors were paying more attention to the possibility of a peace agreement between the United States and Iran than to geopolitical variables even after recent operations, and that the very short-term market response could tilt toward risk-on.