Bitcoin (BTC) fell to the $62,000 level this week as worsening U.S.-Iran relations coincided with institutional selling pressure. A weekly report by Hasegawa Yuya (長谷川友哉), a market analyst at Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Bitbank, cited three factors behind the decline, according to CoinPost on June 7.

First, Iran declared it was halting nuclear talks with the United States, escalating geopolitical uncertainty. Second, U.S. Department of Labor employment and unemployment indicators beat expectations, increasing upward pressure on interest rates. Third, news that Strategy, a company that holds a large amount of bitcoin, sold part of its BTC holdings delivered a psychological shock.

Negative factors also persisted on the supply-demand side. U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs recorded net outflows for 14 consecutive trading sessions through June 3. "In a high interest rate environment, wariness about profit-taking supply from institutional investors and companies increased," Hasegawa said.

Still, downside support held firm. Buying on dips emerged near the 200-week moving average, and news of a renewed ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon also limited the drop. On June 4, spot ETFs switched to a net inflow of $2.69 million for the first time in 14 trading sessions. It fell well short of the average daily inflow of $90.5 million, but it is seen as a meaningful signal in that it ended the run of consecutive outflows.

"If easing Middle East risks and a resumption of ETF inflows are confirmed, BTC can enter a phase of price stabilisation," Hasegawa forecast.