[DigitalToday reporter Yoonseo Lee] Bitcoin slid overnight to as low as $58,000 after a shock from the U.S. personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, marking a new 21-month low.

On June 25, Cointelegraph reported that after Wall Street opened, bitcoin fell as low as $58,035 on Bitstamp. It was the first time it traded at that level since September 2024.

The drop came as a stronger-than-expected U.S. inflation reading amplified volatility across risk assets. May PCE, released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), came in at 4.1 percent, the highest in 3 years. The BEA said the May PCE price index rose 0.4 percent from the previous month, while the core index excluding food and energy rose 0.3 percent.

Stocks also wobbled immediately. The Nasdaq Composite was down 0.5 percent at the time, while the S&P 500 posted only a slight gain. The Nasdaq 100 plunged 2 percent within 30 minutes of the open. Market analysis firm The Kobeissi Letter reacted to the move by calling it "quite an amazing chart."

In the crypto market, the sharp price fall led to large-scale long-position liquidations. Total crypto-market liquidations reached $600 million in an hour, according to CoinGlass. As bitcoin quickly lost its support level, selling pressure in the derivatives market added to the decline in spot prices.

Market participants saw the move as more than a simple rise in volatility, describing it as position pressure. Trader Killa claimed, "Bitcoin is now in a price manipulation phase." Niels Claver, co-founder of the crypto platform STABL Agency, said, "Looking at the BTC/USD flow, it seems we are entering the final downward stretch of this bear market," and set a short-term target of $55,000.

Technically, an assessment emerged that weakening support at $60,000 had been confirmed again. Trader and analyst Rekt Capital had previously diagnosed that support at $60,000 was clearly weakening. He said that after June's monthly candle close, July could show the starting price zone from which a breakdown and rebound may occur.

Rekt Capital also saw the current market structure moving similarly to 2022 and said the 50-month exponential moving average could emerge as the next resistance line. Even as bitcoin attempts a short-term rebound, the market is watching whether pressure will persist as inflation data, stock-market volatility and derivatives liquidations combine.

$BTC seems to be going for its final leg down of this bear market. $55K remains the target. pic.twitter.com/Fr800FMeXx