[DigitalToday reporter Hyun-woo Choo (추현우)] Bitcoin is nearing a break below $60,000. As of 7 a.m. on June 6, bitcoin (BTC) was down 2.78 percent from the previous day at $61,538, according to Coin360. Ether (ETH) plunged 8.96 percent to $1,599, falling below $1,600. Ripple (XRP) fell 4.41 percent, Solana (SOL) dropped 4.89 percent and Binance Coin (BNB) slid 3.92 percent. With virtually the entire market in the red, BTC's market share fell to 58.49 percent.

The decisive blow behind the drop was the fallout from the release of the U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for May. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 172,000 in May, more than double the market estimate of 85,000. The April figure was also revised up by 64,000, marking the second-strongest jobs report in 13 months. Immediately after the release, the probability of a Fed rate hike within the year jumped to 52 percent on Polymarket, and CME FedWatch reflected a 42.7 percent chance of a rate hike in December. As fears of rate hikes became reality, bitcoin briefly touched $60,000 during the session.

Multiple negative factors hit at the same time. Spot bitcoin ETFs posted net outflows for 13 straight trading sessions, taking cumulative outflows beyond $3.2 billion, and Mt. Gox moved $739.0 billion worth of bitcoin to new wallets, stoking selling concerns. Hezbollah also rejected Israel's ceasefire proposal, reigniting tensions in the Middle East.

Total liquidations over the two days of June 4 to 5 exceeded $1.6 billion, with 85 percent of the liquidations concentrated in long positions. Bitcoin alone accounted for the largest liquidations at $777.0 million, followed by ether at $398.0 million.

Michael Saylor (마이클 세일러), chairman of Strategy, defended the move, saying, "The current price decline is due to a temporary shift of capital to build $400.0 billion in AI infrastructure," but the market response was cold.

Bitcoin has now fallen to near the operating cost of mining rigs, and the RSI and fear-and-greed index have entered an extreme oversold and panic zone. The June FOMC meeting on June 11 and the final outcome of talks with Iran remain the last variables that will determine whether the $60,000 support level holds.