It was a week when the cryptocurrency market slipped into an “extreme fear” phase. As bitcoin was pushed to the brink of breaking the $60,000 support level, the odds of the U.S. digital asset market structure bill, the CLARITY Act, passing this year fell again due to difficulties in the Senate schedule. XRP fell 66 percent from its peak, but big holders held their positions. Ripple is also accelerating efforts to expand an institutional financial ecosystem centered on its stablecoin RLUSD.

The biggest issue in the crypto market this week was bitcoin’s steep decline. U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded net outflows for 13 consecutive trading sessions from May 15 to June 3. Total outflows over the period reached about $4.37 billion. About $1.41 billion left in last week alone, marking the worst weekly performance since launch.

• Bitcoin slides to $62,000... Middle East situation and ETF flows are variables • Bitcoin in extreme fear... short-term holders expand stop-loss selling • Crypto market sentiment at “extreme fear”... bitcoin ETFs see net outflows for 13 straight sessions

Bitcoin at one point slipped below $60,000, hitting its lowest level in about 3 months. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index fell into the “extreme fear” zone of 11 to 15. Market participants analyze the move as the combined result of instability in the Middle East, reduced expectations for interest rate cuts due to strong U.S. jobs data, and a shift of funds into AI and technology stocks.

• There was a real reason for bitcoin’s weakness... “Impact of funds concentrated in the U.S. stock market”

Market sentiment cooled further after it emerged that Strategy, the world’s largest corporate holder of bitcoin and formerly MicroStrategy, sold 32 bitcoins in late May. Strategy later moved to calm concerns by buying back 1,550 bitcoins, but unease that its principle of “never selling” had been broken did not easily subside.

Grayscale Research assessed that bitcoin needs a new large-scale buyer other than Strategy to form a solid bottom. It pointed to a recovery in ETF inflows and whether bitcoin can reclaim the $64,000 to $65,000 resistance range as key to a rebound.

• Grayscale offers conditions for a bitcoin bottom... “Need a new buyer other than Strategy” • If bitcoin’s $60,000 support breaks, how far could it fall?

The likelihood that the CLARITY Act will pass this year has fallen again. Alex Thorn (알렉스 손), head of research at Galaxy Research, lowered his estimate of the probability of passage within 2026 to 60 percent from 75 percent. He cited an increased chance that the bill’s schedule will be pushed back as the Senate is in a situation where it must prioritize pending issues related to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA.

• CLARITY Act passage odds 75 percent to 60 percent... burden from Senate schedule and stablecoin issues • White House presses for early handling, JPMorgan sees difficulties... differing views on the CLARITY Act

The CLARITY Act is a key bill that clearly separates regulatory authority over digital assets between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The industry sees the bill’s passage as a turning point for institutionalizing the virtual asset industry in the United States. In the Senate, however, disagreements between Democrats and Republicans over ethics provisions and illicit finance-related provisions remain unresolved.

The White House is pressing for early handling, while JPMorgan judged that the risk of the bill not being handled within the year has increased, given the congressional recess in August and the midterm elections in November. A sense of crisis in the industry is also growing. Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz said “June is the month of the CLARITY Act” and stressed that “if not now, there may be no opportunity forever.”

XRP saw notable restraint in selling by institutional investors and large holders this week, despite concerns that the $1 level could be tested again. Although it has fallen 66 percent from its peak, large holders maintained their positions, which is being cited as a variable to watch in a rebound phase.

• Big holders held on despite XRP’s 66 percent drop... a “rebound variable” draws attention • Will XRP’s $1 level be tested again... technical indicators and the U.S. CLARITY Act in focus

A former Ripple chief technology officer predicted that companies will tokenize stocks, repos and loans on the XRP Ledger. Evaluations also continued that Ripple’s planned stablecoin, RLUSD, is not a substitute for XRP but serves as a channel to expand the ecosystem and could be a catalyst for institutional inflows.

• Former Ripple CTO: “Companies will tokenize stocks, repos and loans on the XRP Ledger”

Signals that the market is nearing a bottom emerged alongside warnings of further downside risk. The founder of CryptoQuant said bitcoin avoided a fall into the $20,000 range thanks to Strategy and ETFs, underscoring the structural role of institutional funds.

• CryptoQuant founder: “Bitcoin avoided a fall into the $20,000 range thanks to Strategy and ETFs”

There was also analysis that 2 of 3 conditions for a rebound have already been met. Remaining variables were cited as a recovery in the kimchi premium at domestic exchanges and an increase in Coinbase trading volume. Strategy Chairman Michael Saylor said bitcoin needs to expand beyond ETFs into banking and credit markets, again urging bitcoin’s incorporation into financial infrastructure.

• 2 of 3 conditions for a bitcoin rebound met... remaining variables are Coinbase and the kimchi premium • Strategy chairman: “Bitcoin must expand beyond ETFs into banking and credit markets” • Bitcoin and ethereum both underperform in a traditional-asset bull market in 2026

A strange phenomenon also appeared in which gold prices, a traditional safe-haven asset, fell even amid a geopolitical crisis, raising interest again in whether bitcoin will establish itself as true “digital gold.” It amounts to a test of its ability to store value as a decentralized asset.