Cryptocurrencies were red across the board on June 22. As per Decibel, Bitcoin (BTC) led the downward momentum with a 4.2% over 24 hours and 5.5% for the week. At press time, it was changing
Cryptocurrencies were red across the board on June 22.
As per Decibel, Bitcoin (BTC) led the downward momentum with a 4.2% over 24 hours and 5.5% for the week. At press time, it was changing hands around $62,205. If we widen the lens, it remains more than 50% below its October 2025 record high.
Ethereum (ETH) fell 5.6% to about $1,652, while XRP (XRP) slid 4.4% to $1.09, and Solana (SOL) led the majors lower with a 5% decline to near $69.
SOL/USDDecibel
Meanwhile, the total crypto market cap was down 2.8% and was near $2.23 trillion.
The downward move lands as Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) argues Bitcoin is fundamentally changing character.
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In a Tuesday report, as per Coindesk, the bank said the asset's renewed slump, which briefly pushed Bitcoin below $60,000 in the first week of June, reflects a convergence of macroeconomic and structural pressures.
The report added that Bitcoin increasingly behaves like an institutional risk asset rather than a retail-driven speculative bet.
"Bitcoin is not disappearing; it is maturing into an institutional asset whose price is set by fund flows, fed expectations, competing risk themes, and legislative outcomes," analyst Marion Laboure wrote.
The marginal buyer, she added, "is no longer a retail investor but an ETF allocator or corporate treasury."
Deutsche Bank's economists now expect the Fed to raise rates twice in 2026.
Rate hikes make safe yields rise, liquidity tightens, and capital rotates out of Bitcoin back into income-paying assets, pressuring its price.
Adding to the strain, U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs have logged six straight weeks of net outflows totaling roughly $6 billion, as per the report. As of press time, the month of June has already seen $2.33 billion of net outflows as per SoSo Value.
Because ETF demand has become a primary driver of price formation, the bank said, the reversal is magnifying the downside.
A confidence shock from Strategy's (NASDAQ: MSTR) first Bitcoin sale since 2022 added to the unease.
Laboure also flagged intensifying competition from artificial intelligence, with U.S. tech giants projected to spend more than $700 billion on AI infrastructure in 2026.
Investors increasingly treat Bitcoin and AI-linked equities as competing homes for speculative capital. For instance, in a recent interview, veteran investor Jordi Visser highlighted that crypto will climb only when AI trade finally pauses.
