[DigitalToday reporter Jinju Hong (홍진주)] Bitcoin (BTC) slid below $62,000, expanding Strategy's unrealised loss on its bitcoin holdings to about $10.8 billion.

On June 4 (local time), blockchain media outlet Cryptopolitan reported that the loss rate on Strategy's bitcoin position widened to about 17 percent based on six years of accumulation.

Bitcoin fell more than 5 percent at one point in early trading, dropping below $62,000 for the first time since Feb. 6. Renewed escalation in fighting following the Iran conflict in the Middle East weakened appetite for risk assets and weighed on the broader market. The weekly decline was about 16 percent.

Strategy sold 32 bitcoin from May 26 to 31, just before the decline, at an average price of $77,135 each. The sale was later disclosed and was made public to the market on June 1. The amount sold was small compared with total holdings, but the market reaction was strong because the company has long promoted a bitcoin accumulation strategy as a core part of its identity. Michael Saylor previously said that before selling bitcoin he would have to "sell a kidney first," so this sale was seen as carrying greater symbolic weight.

After the sale, the drop in the value of Strategy's bitcoin holdings totalled about $11.8 billion. Its shares fell 77 percent from their peak and were down about 18 percent this week alone. Volatility also increased in related products such as MSTU, MSTY and MSTX that track it. This is interpreted as reflecting investors beginning to review Strategy's bitcoin management approach again.

Figures comparing Strategy's performance with the broader stock market also added to the burden. Over the same period, the S&P 500 rose about 116 percent, while Strategy was hit hard along with bitcoin's decline. Its treasury strategy of managing cash-like assets with a focus on bitcoin has come under renewed test.

Weakness across cryptocurrencies also continued. Bitcoin fell as low as $61,351, ether (ETH) slipped below $1,800, Solana (SOL) dropped to $69 and XRP slid to around $1.17. The value of liquidated positions over the past 24 hours was about $1.63 billion, with more than $1.38 billion of that in long positions.

Flow indicators also looked poor. U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs posted net outflows of $396.6 million on June 3 alone. That marked 13 straight trading days of net outflows since May 15. As spot ETFs failed to absorb expectations for gains and instead became a channel for fund exits, downside pressure on bitcoin prices increased.

The strategy sale issue was also reflected in prediction market Polymarket. Traders bet that Strategy would not sell bitcoin by May 31, but it sold 32 BTC during that period and disclosed it a day later. Trading volume for the contract was about $80 million.

Institutional buying also showed signs of weakening. Glassnode data showed that during the May rally, wallets holding 1,000 to 10,000 bitcoin led purchases. This group is often linked to large investors and institutions. In June, their activity slowed, and during the correction phase, smaller wallets and ultra-large whales moved more actively to buy.

The fact that listed companies hold a total of about 1.24 million bitcoin is also a market variable. If listed firms holding bitcoin as part of treasury strategy move to sell more, the market could be more directly exposed to selling pressure centred on corporate holdings. As a result, whether bitcoin prices rebound is expected to be driven by ETF fund flows, a recovery in buying by large holders, and whether listed companies sell more.