Bitcoin drops below $90,000 after early January pop as BTC ETFs see $480 million outflows

Bitcoin fell under $90,000 on Thursday as the early-January crypto rebound cooled, even as the broader risk backdrop stayed supportive with a rally in global government bonds and growing bets on Federal Reserve rate cuts.

Bitcoin was down about 2% over 24 hours but still up more than 3% over the past week, while ether slipped around 3% on the day and remained roughly 6% higher over seven days, according to CoinGecko data.

Spot bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. saw over $486 million in outflows, with losses spilling over to their second-straight day for the first time this year.

XRP led losses among majors, down about 4.5% over 24 hours but still up 17% on the week. Dogecoin held onto the strongest weekly gain, up more than 22%.

The latest moves tracked a shift in traditional markets.

Treasuries extended gains across the curve, pushing the U.S. 10-year yield down to around 4.14% as weak economic data reinforced expectations that the Fed may have room to cut rates later this year, per Bloomberg.

A December increase in a gauge of private-sector payrolls fell short of the median economist estimate in a Bloomberg survey, with ADP Research data released Wednesday showed an increase of 41,000, versus a median estimate of 50,000.

Some rate markets briefly nudged up bets that the Fed will deliver at least two more quarter-point cuts by year-end.

A similar bid spread across bond markets in Asia, with Australia and New Zealand debt rising and Japanese bond futures holding gains after a 30-year auction.

That matters for crypto because easier policy expectations tend to support higher-risk assets, particularly when cash is looking for a home.

“Macroeconomics is a crucial factor,” analysts at payments firm B2BINPAY said in an email, describing crypto as a risk asset that depends heavily on bitcoin-led sentiment.

The timing also fits the post-holiday reset. December was largely rangebound, as desks pared risk into year-end and liquidity thinned. B2BINPAY said the market spent much of the month moving sideways as traders closed books and avoided major positions.

Now, the argument is less about a single catalyst and more about a cluster of tailwinds, such as improving liquidity expectations, a steadier policy mood in Washington, and a market that’s still well below cycle highs in other asset classes.

Still, the pullback on Thursday showed traders are not treating the early-year bounce as a straight line. Crypto remains sensitive to bitcoin dominance, and any slowdown in flows or a renewed bid for traditional assets could test the durability of the rebound.