Bitcoin drops below $62,000 as $1.5 billion in crypto longs get wiped out

Presto Research says bitcoin's drawdowns this year have coincided with rallies in AI stocks and gold as markets scale back expectations for Fed rate cuts. What to know : Bitcoin fell below $62,000 in Hong Kong trading, sparking more than $1.5 billion in leveraged crypto liquidations over 24 hours, including over $800 million in bitcoin and $386 million in ether positions. The sell-off came amid persistent institutional weakness, with U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs seeing about $1 billion in net outflows this week, extending a record streak of withdrawals. Analysts at Presto Research say bitcoin’s slump reflects competition from gold and artificial-intelligence stocks as investors reassess Federal Reserve rate-cut prospects, suggesting a rebound may hinge on easing inflation worries and renewed demand for liquidity-sensitive assets.