Bitcoin Slides Toward $70,000 as Strategy's First-Ever BTC Sale Disclosure Dampens Crypto Sentiment
Alina Collins
Bitcoin fell below $71,000 on June 2, down 7.5% in a week; Strategy — the world's largest corporate bitcoin holder — disclosed selling 32 BTC for the first time in five years, a tiny amount that nonetheless cracked the "never sell" narrative and dragged on retail confidence.
How far has bitcoin fallen, and are other tokens following?
Bitcoin broke below $71,000 in early Asian trading on June 2, down 3.4% in 24 hours and 7.5% over the past week. Traders are watching whether the $70,000 psychological level holds.
Other major tokens fell in tandem: Ethereum hovered near $1,990, BNB dropped 2.4%, XRP shed 3.8%, and Solana slid 2.8%.
This means → the sell-off is market-wide, not bitcoin-specific. Risk appetite across crypto is contracting.
What did Strategy sell, and why do 32 bitcoins matter so much?
In an 8-K filing, Strategy disclosed selling 32 BTC between May 26 and May 31 at an average price of $77,135, totaling roughly $2.5 million. Proceeds are earmarked for preferred-stock dividends.
In plain terms = 32 BTC is a rounding error in the bitcoin market, but Strategy is the world's largest corporate bitcoin holder, and this is the first time it has publicly sold any bitcoin in five years.
This reflects a hard reality: even the poster child for "buy and never sell" faces cash-flow pressure when prices drop — preferred dividends still have to be paid.
What is the market actually afraid of — the size or the signal?
BTSE COO Jeff Mei said the amount sold is "relatively insignificant," but the signal is not: when even the largest bitcoin treasury company is selling, markets take notice.
CoinEx chief analyst Jeff Ko stressed that Strategy's long-running "accumulate, never sell" narrative is now broken, dealing a direct blow to retail confidence.
Presto Research head of research Peter Chung warned that unless Strategy's next move restores confidence, skeptics will keep asking: were these 32 BTC meant to ease the market in gently, or a prelude to something larger?
What pressure is geopolitics adding?
Zeus Research analyst Dominick John noted that rising U.S.–Iran tensions triggered risk-off flows, with investors dumping high-beta assets — assets that swing more than the broader market, and crypto is the textbook example — on fears of instability around the Strait of Hormuz.
This means → bitcoin's slide is not just a crypto-internal story. Geopolitical risk is pulling risk capital out from the outside.
Put simply = when the macro backdrop screams "seek safety," the most volatile assets get sold first — and crypto is at the front of that line.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.