With the $60,000 level breached, Bitcoin loyalists are hinting at adding to their positions. Will retail traders follow suit?

Last Friday, Bitcoin broke below the $60,000 mark. In just a week, it plummeted from $73,684 to $63,117, a drop of 14.34%.

But what's even more noteworthy than the price action is the shift in institutional behavior.

According to CoinDesk, citing SoSoValue data: Last week, there was a net outflow of $1.72 billion from 11 Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S.—the largest single-week redemption in a year. Just a few months ago in February, when Bitcoin was also nearing the $60,000 mark, the entire market only saw an outflow of $318 million.

The key difference is: back in February, as the price dipped, ETF outflows decreased—indicating that some institutions were buying the dip. But this time, the script has completely flipped.

As the price drops, the outflow speeds up. It has accelerated for four consecutive weeks: from $1 billion in the week of May 15 to $1.72 billion last week. No institutions are stepping in; only panic selling.

NYDIG's research director Greg Cipolaro pointed out that this decline isn't due to a single reason. The continuous rise of AI stocks, impending IPOs from major players like SpaceX and OpenAI, fears over quantum computing, and Strategy selling coins — multiple bearish factors have piled up to crush the market.

Strategy has sold coins for the first time, and the market's biggest fear has materialized.

Just as institutions were frantically dumping, the core bulls of the crypto space — Strategy — were also selling coins.

Last Monday, Strategy disclosed that the company sold 32 Bitcoins, cashing out about $2.5 million. This is the first time Strategy has sold coins since 2022.

While it's a drop in the bucket compared to its holdings of over 843,000 coins, the market immediately blew up. Strategy has long been viewed as the most steadfast bull for Bitcoin, symbolizing 'buy and hold'. This belief is so deeply rooted in the crypto space that many consider it a confidence anchor for holding Bitcoin.

Now, this anchor is getting shaky.

What’s even more unsettling for investors is the SEC filing: CEO Phong Le plans to sell about $11.1 million worth of MSTR stock, and CFO Andrew Kang plans to sell around $3.9 million. Both are based on recently vested equity incentives, with exercise prices far below current market prices.

Strategy still has a significant amount of preferred shares that need to be redeemed in the future; the only revenue source is Bitcoin. If the price continues to drop, will they be forced to sell more?

Saylor shared a chart, indicating that it's a good time to add to positions.

Just when panic was at its peak, Strategy founder Michael Saylor tweeted, sharing just a single image with one line:

A good time to add more dots.

Those familiar with Saylor know he's hinting at increasing his position. Whenever Strategy is about to make a large buy into Bitcoin, he shares a chart tracking historical acquisition costs, with each dot representing a buy. Posting this chart has become a market signal indicating that Strategy is about to make a move.

CEO Phong Le then replied below: Our strategy is to continuously increase the amount of Bitcoin per share; everything else is just rumors.

But this time, will the market buy into it like before?

Saylor’s logic is simple: when others are fearful, I am greedy. Only when prices drop can one add to their position, and adding to positions allows for continued money printing.

But this time, the opposing side has changed. In the past, when Saylor called for action, many jumped on board. Now, more and more people in the market are asking: what is the opportunity cost of holding Bitcoin? Isn’t SpaceX's IPO tempting? AI stocks are hitting historical highs; why stick with Bitcoin?

The market may still need time to consolidate and find a bottom.

The background of this decline is more complex than it appears on the surface.

NYDIG’s analysis pointed out a structural change: capital in the crypto market is being siphoned off by the AI sector. Companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX are about to IPO, and AI-related stocks are hitting new highs. The opportunity cost of holding Bitcoin is being re-evaluated.

Combined with occasional bursts of quantum computing panic, the revelation of Zcash's four-year vulnerability by AI, and news of Iranian crypto exchanges being sanctioned — market sentiment is extremely fragile under multiple pressures.

As of June 8, Bitcoin is priced at about $63,117, with a 24-hour increase of 3.11% and a 7-day decline of 14.34%; Ethereum is at $1,685, with a 24-hour increase of 6.41%.

True bottoms are never formed in a day. Whether Saylor's chart can stabilize the market will be crucial in the coming weeks.