Bitcoin slid into the $65,000 range, setting a new low so far in 2026. As of 7:30 a.m. on June 4, bitcoin (BTC) was down 2.79 percent from the previous day at $65,197, according to Coin360. Ether (ETH) fell 3.38 percent to $1,830, solana (SOL) was down 3.63 percent, and binance coin (BNB) fell 3.93 percent. BTC dominance slipped to 57.75 percent.

The sharp drop was the result of a compound shock, not solely the issue of an expanded Middle East war. The immediate trigger was excessively built-up leverage. On June 2, the leverage ratio of bitcoin futures open interest (OI) jumped to 2.63 percent, the highest since just before the October 2025 "Black Friday crash". On the same day, spot bitcoin inflows to exchanges totaled 58,617 BTC, the largest since April 14.

With the market close to breaking point, a disclosure of selling by Strategy undermined sentiment. Strategy sold 32 bitcoins for the first time in four years. The amount was about $2.5 million, only 0.004 percent of its total holdings, but the market impact was large as Michael Saylor had for years stressed a philosophy of "never selling."

As a result, on June 2 bitcoin fell below $70,000 and then broke below $69,000, $68,000, $67,000 and $66,000 in succession. It plunged more than 14 percent from a peak of $77,799 two days earlier, and $1.5 billion in futures positions were liquidated, the largest this year. Spot bitcoin ETFs recorded net outflows for a third straight week, confirming weaker institutional demand, and that trend intensified selling.

Middle East tensions also renewed, including Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) striking Kuwait airport and a missile attack on the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain, adding to selling pressure across risk assets. Inflation concerns, uncertainty over U.S. Federal Reserve rate cuts and a stronger dollar also acted as structural headwinds.

Outlooks are mixed. On Polymarket, the probability that bitcoin holds the $65,000 support line during June was shown as 77 percent, but the probability of a further decline to $57,500 also reached 18 percent. Technically, analysis is dominant that a break below a daily close at $65,000 opens a $60,000 demand zone. The June FOMC on June 11, whether Iran talks resume and whether ETF fund flows reverse are cited as key conditions for a short-term rebound.