Bitcoin slides to $71k on Strategy’s first sale since 2022, U.S.-Iran uncertainty

Bitcoin slid on Monday, hitting an over seven-week low after top corporate holder Strategy sold some of the digital currency for the first time in over three years. Cryptocurrencies were also weighed down by fresh tensions between the U.S. and Iran and continued uncertainty over the state of their peace talks.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency has also been reeling from an over $3 billion selldown in crypto-linked exchange-traded funds by institutional investors over the past three weeks. It was last down 3.6% to $71,192.7 by 17:22 ET (21:22 GMT).

Strategy sells Bitcoin for first time since late 2022 amid ETF wipeout

Strategy sold 32 Bitcoin between May 26 and May 31 at an average net price of $77,135 a coin, raising $2.5 million, the company disclosed in a regulatory filing on Monday, marking the first time the Michael Saylor-led firm has sold any of its holdings since late 2022.

The proceeds are earmarked to fund distributions on its preferred stock, according to a footnote in the filing. The company held 843,706 Bitcoin at an average purchase price of $75,699 as of May 31.

The Bitcoin sale from the top corporate holder comes at a time when ETFs linked to the world’s largest cryptocurrency have seen significant outflows. Data from aggregator SoSoValue showed a $1.4 billion outflow from U.S. ETFs in the past week, their biggest dump since late January.

Last week’s outflow was also the third straight week of over $1 billion capital outflows from Bitcoin ETFs, indicating that institutional investors were growing persistently negative on crypto markets. A bulk of last week’s outflows came from a $1.26 billion block sale of BlackRock’s IBIT, which crypto investment firm NYDIG said was likely a rapid exit by a large investor.

"U.S. spot ETFs logged 10 consecutive sessions of outflows between May 15 and May 29, draining $2.97 billion — a new record breaking the previous eight-session streak from early 2025. May is tracking as the third-worst month since launch at approximately $2.4 billion in net outflows, behind only February and November 2025," Dessislava Ianeva, analyst at Nexo Dispatch, said.

"The risk is that this unwind has further to run. As per Glassnode data, Q2 spot CVD has been negative in four of the past five years and Q3 weaker still, and with summer liquidity thinning, a U.S.-Iran resolution may prove the more consequential variable than any technical level," Ianeva added.

Iran suspends exchange of messages with U.S., Trump says talks ongoing

Turning to the Middle East conflict, hopes for an imminent peace deal between Washington and Tehran took a dent on Monday after after yet another exchange of military strikes over the weekend, an Israeli military operation in Lebanon, and Iran’s subsequent suspension of negotiations with the U.S.

Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency said it had learned that Tehran’s negotiating team was suspending "dialogues and exchange of texts through a mediator" with the U.S., citing the military action in Lebanon and a violation of an ongoing ceasefire with Washington on all fronts, including Lebanon. Tasnim added that Iran was also going to "completely block" the critical Strait of Hormuz.