Cryptocurrencies: Stocks Are Better Than Bitcoin
Bitcoin continues to falter and has at times fallen below the $60,000 mark. Is this still a normal consolidation, or is it the beginning of the end for cryptocurrencies? Opinions on this vary.
July 2, 2026. FRANKFURT (Deutsche Börse). A crypto winter in the middle of summer—cryptocurrency prices continue to fall. Bitcoin has at times slipped below the $60,000 mark, its lowest level since September 2024 and more than half its all-time high from October of last year. Ethereum and Solana have even lost two-thirds of their value since their peaks. The Nasdaq 100, by contrast, is near record highs and has gained 18 percent this year alone.
Bad News for Bitcoin: Higher Interest Rates, Strong U.S. Dollar
“The main headwinds were persistently high net outflows from global crypto ETPs, renewed pressure on major hyperscalers, and concerns about a broader tightening of financing conditions,” explains André Dragosch of Bitwise. Added to this are the recent rise of the U.S. dollar and resurgent geopolitical risks surrounding Iran.
“The macroeconomic environment for risk assets has become more challenging,” agrees Dovile Silenskyte of WisdomTree. She points to persistent inflationary pressures, interest rates in the U.S. that are likely to remain high for some time, the continued strength of the U.S. dollar, and capital shifts toward stocks in the artificial intelligence sector. News from the U.S. firm Strategy—one of the world’s largest institutional holders of Bitcoin—also contributed to the sell-off. Strategy has now established an official framework to sell portions of its Bitcoin reserves as needed.
Extremely High Outflows from Crypto Trackers
Both U.S. spot ETFs and crypto ETNs are being sold off on a massive scale: U.S. spot ETFs recorded outflows of more than $2.5 billion in June, marking one of their worst months on record, as reported by Max Michielsen of 21shares. WisdomTree also reported very high outflows from U.S. products in June and only modest activity in Europe.
The local market for crypto ETNs is very quiet: Recently, there has been more activity again, at least in the Invesco Physical Bitcoin ETN (XS2376095068), as Ivo Orlemann of ICF Bank reports. “But these are only sales.” Interest in crypto ETNs is also low among Lang & Schwarz’s clientele. Occasionally, trading involves second- and third-tier products, such as the 21shares Hyperliquid Staking (CH1471826029).
Ivo Orlemann
EU Regulation Moves Forward
On July 1, the transition period for the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) ended. Since then, only crypto companies that hold a MiCA license are permitted to advertise their products and services. Among those no longer eligible is Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange. Binance’s MiCA application was rejected in Greece.
A “Useless, Speculative” Asset?
Overall, disappointment is spreading over Bitcoin’s weak performance amid inflation and geopolitical crises. Recent comments by “bubble prophet” Jeremy Grantham, a British investor and co-founder of the Boston-based asset management firm GMO, caused a stir. He told CNBC that Bitcoin would disappear over the course of years, perhaps even decades—“not with a bang, but with a whimper.” Grantham described the cryptocurrency as a “useless, speculative” asset with no intrinsic value. The price has halved for no particular reason, even though the economic environment is favorable.
“Historically, such sentiment levels have often been tactically interesting entry points,” says Dragosch of Bitwise, referring to the negative sentiment in the industry. However, global financing conditions would need to ease, and outflows from crypto ETPs would need to subside. “If the environment stabilizes, the currently depressed sentiment, the slowing selling momentum, and the valuations—which have become historically attractive—could form the basis for a recovery.”
By Anna-Maria Borse, July 2, 2026, © Deutsche Börse AG
About the Author
Anna-Maria Borse is a finance and business editor specializing in financial markets, the stock market, and economic issues.
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