Bitcoin slipped 3.5% to $121,288 after peaking at $126,198, its new all-time high. 99%+ of supply remains in profit, a euphoric zone that typically precedes mild corrections.
Futures open interest dropped 3.75% to $91.9 billion, while $151.3 million in positions were liquidated.
Bitcoin ETFs saw $7.78 billion in trading volume, while Ether ETFs posted $421 million in inflows.
Ethereum traded near $4,445, down 5.3%; SOL at $219; BNB still strong at $1,291 after a record run.
Government shutdown tensions and profit-taking fueled the short-term pullback. Structural demand and ETF flows remain firm, supporting a constructive medium-term outlook.
For the first time since it began accumulating Bitcoin in 2020, Michael Saylor signalled the company may sell part of its holdings — a shift in the buy-and-hold model that has defined Strategy's identity and underpinned its equity premium.
The exchange's third major headcount reduction in three years tracks closely with the crypto market cycle, even as Armstrong points to AI as a structural reason to operate with fewer people.
The SEC this week delayed the launch of more than two dozen prediction market ETFs, citing concerns about product mechanics and disclosures. A Bloomberg analysis published last week suggests the retail-friendly pitch underpinning these products doesn't quite hold up to scrutiny.
A wave of exchange-traded funds designed to give investors exposure to prediction market outcomes was expected to begin trading as early as Thursday — until U.S. regulators intervened.
