Bitcoin's price tumbled below $62,000 this week, and trading firm Wintermute says the culprit isn't Strategy's modest BTC sale — it's nearly $3 billion in ETF outflows and heavy institutional selling. Wintermute warned the absence of fresh capital inflows means it's too early to call a market bottom, even as some early accumulation emerges.
What drove the sell-off
Wintermute pointed to U.S. institutional investors pulling cash from spot Bitcoin ETFs as the primary force behind the slide. The firm estimates those outflows approached $3 billion, far outweighing the small BTC sale by Strategy that some traders had blamed. In a note this week, Wintermute said the institutional selling pressure was broad and persistent.
Bottom still unconfirmed
The trading desk cautioned that without meaningful capital inflows, any recovery lacks confirmation. “It's too early to confirm a Bitcoin market bottom,” Wintermute said in its analysis. The firm noted that while some early accumulation has been spotted, it's not enough to signal a turnaround. Bitcoin's price drop below $62,000 was sharp, and Wintermute sees no clear catalyst for a reversal yet.
Early accumulation, but no all-clear
Wintermute did observe pockets of accumulation from certain buyers — likely long-term holders or opportunistic funds. But the firm emphasized that buying remains tentative. Without a sustained inflow of fresh money, the risk of another leg down remains. For now, Wintermute says the market is in a wait-and-see pattern, with ETF flows and institutional behavior as the key indicators to watch.
