Bitcoin Global Latest International News (Full In-depth Report as of June 18, 2026 Early Morning)
Release time:2026-06-18 Publisher:GINZO

Part 1: Real-Time Market Quotes, 24-Hour Price Movements, Derivatives Liquidations & Overall Market Sentiment

1. Bitcoin Spot Price and General Crypto Market Performance

Following the Federal Reserve’s policy release in the early hours of June 18 (KST), Bitcoin plunged to an intraday low of $63,970.2 and traded sideways between $64,000 and $64,800 throughout the session. It recorded a 2.72% loss over 24 hours, with the core spot trading price hovering around $64,300.
A broad-based sell-off swept the entire crypto sector. Ethereum tumbled 3.65% to $1,729.14 over the same period. Major altcoins built on public blockchains including SOL, ADA and XRP fell between 3% and 5%, while meme tokens suffered deeper losses ranging from 7% to 12%. Risk-off sentiment triggered a contraction in the total market cap of stablecoins. The two dominant stablecoins USDT and USDC recorded combined outflows exceeding $1.2 billion within 24 hours. Capital rotated toward USD cash and short-term US Treasury bonds, leaving almost no fresh inflows for crypto assets.
From a technical analysis perspective, the daily candlestick chart shows prices consistently trading below the 20-day, 50-day and 200-day moving averages, confirming a solid medium-to-long-term bearish trend. On the 4-hour timeframe, every rebound is accompanied by shrinking trading volume, forming a strong resistance zone at $66,500–$66,800. The immediate support level stands at $63,500. A daily close below this threshold will target the key psychological mark of $60,000, a cost zone where massive institutional investors accumulated positions in the first half of the year. A breakdown will trigger mass stop-loss selling and accelerate further downside risks.

2. Crypto Fear & Greed Index Hits Four-Month Low

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index dropped to 15, entering the “Extreme Fear” territory. The reading worsened sharply from 22 on the previous day, marking the lowest level in nearly four months. Per industry statistical benchmarks, any reading below 25 signals panic selling among retail investors and short-term institutions. Historical market data reveals that sustained declines are highly likely once the index falls to this range.
Retail participation sentiment slumped to its lowest point of 2026. Global search volume for Bitcoin on Google and social media platforms declined by 61% month-on-month, and discussions surrounding crypto assets dropped drastically. New capital from retail traders has effectively dried up. Current price movements are solely driven by three major forces: institutional capital from US spot Bitcoin ETFs, large on-chain whale transfers, and leveraged funds on exchange derivatives. Retail trading accounts for less than 18% of total market turnover, with greatly diminished influence over price swings.

3. Global Derivatives Liquidations & Market Deleveraging Breakdown

After the Fed released its hawkish dot plot and the chair’s remarks, mass forced liquidations occurred across perpetual and quarterly futures on all major global exchanges. Roughly 100,000 traders faced margin calls within 24 hours, with total liquidation value hitting $432 million. Position structures were severely lopsided: long liquidations made up 94% of the total, while short liquidations accounted for merely 6%. This clearly demonstrates widespread stop-losses from leveraged long traders who bought the dip.
Breakdown by top exchanges: Binance recorded $187 million in long liquidations, OKX $124 million, and US-based Coinbase $89 million. The total open interest of futures markets fell by 2.7% compared to the prior session, and average market leverage ratios continued to contract. Both institutions and retail traders are aggressively unwinding leveraged positions. Quantitative research reports from overseas asset managers warn that the crypto market’s deleveraging cycle is far from complete. If the US Dollar Index holds firmly above the 104 level, another wave of mass liquidations will hit the market in subsequent trading days, amplifying price volatility.

Part 2: June FOMC Meeting – The Core Macroeconomic Catalyst Behind Bitcoin’s Downturn (Comprehensive Analysis)

This June policy meeting marked the first quarterly press conference of newly appointed Fed Chair Kevin Walsh. Uniformly hawkish policy signals fundamentally reshaped global USD liquidity expectations for 2026, acting as the primary bearish catalyst weighing on all USD-denominated risk assets including Bitcoin.

1. Core Interest Rate Decision

All 12 FOMC members voted unanimously to hold the federal funds rate within the 3.5%–3.75% range. This marked the fourth consecutive pause in rate hikes since December 2025, fully aligning with pre-meeting market consensus. Bitcoin briefly rebounded over $500 immediately after the policy statement was published, yet reversed sharply once the dot plot and chair’s remarks were disclosed.

2. Sharp Upward Revisions to Inflation Forecasts & Rate Dot Plot (Root Cause of Market Collapse)

First, inflation projections were revised drastically higher. The median forecast for full-year 2026 PCE inflation rose from 2.7% in March to 3.6%, while core PCE inflation was lifted to 3.3%. Both figures sit well above the Fed’s long-term 2% target. Official Fed documents explicitly state the current pace of disinflation in the US falls short of earlier projections, eliminating fundamental conditions for an early rate-cut cycle.
Second, the entire rate dot plot shifted upward. The median projection for the federal funds rate at the end of 2026 climbed from 3.4% to 3.8%. Out of 18 participating committee members, nine supported resuming rate hikes within 2026, with one official forecasting a total 100-basis-point increase by year-end. Median rate projections for 2027 and 2028 were also revised higher, fully erasing market optimism about monetary easing in the second half of the year and extending the expected duration of elevated interest rates.
Third, pricing in interest rate futures markets underwent a complete reversal. Real-time data from the CME FedWatch Tool shows the probability of a 25-basis-point rate hike in September surged to 56.2% post-meeting, and markets fully priced in a 100% chance of at least one rate increase in 2026. Previously, asset managers worldwide widely anticipated the Fed would pivot to rate cuts between July and September, leading to a drastic shift in core macroeconomic outlooks.

3. Key Hawkish Remarks from Chair Walsh’s Press Conference

  1. This policy statement was drastically condensed to only 130 words, the shortest release since 2007. All forward guidance regarding future interest rate paths was eliminated entirely. Rate adjustments moving forward will be determined solely by real-time inflation and employment data, with no pre-emptive easing or tightening signals provided to markets, drastically elevating policy uncertainty across global financial markets.
  2. The chair reaffirmed the Fed’s unwavering commitment to the 2% inflation target, clarifying rate cuts will not be considered until inflation cools sustainably to target levels and remains stable. He stated the current restrictive high-rate environment remains insufficient to suppress entrenched inflationary pressures.
  3. Walsh announced the establishment of five new Fed reform working groups, prioritizing accelerated quantitative tightening (QT) to continuously shrink the Fed’s balance sheet and siphon base USD liquidity out of global markets. Aggressive QT reduces incremental USD capital flowing into equities and crypto assets, creating an unfavorable backdrop for risk asset appreciation.
  4. Walsh downplayed the reference value of the dot plot, warning markets against overinterpreting committee members’ individual rate projections. He declined to submit his own personal rate outlook, noting current inflation is a structural issue underpinned by three core drivers: energy prices, import tariffs and housing costs. He stressed monetary policy will not be altered for the sole purpose of propping up short-term financial markets.

4. Transmission Mechanism Linking Cross-Asset Volatility to Bitcoin

Post-announcement, the US Dollar Index jumped nearly 100 points to settle above 104. The 2-year US Treasury yield rose 15 basis points to 4.2%, and the 10-year Treasury yield climbed 6 basis points to 4.49%. All three major US stock indices declined sharply; the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.34%, with large-cap tech names including Meta and Nvidia slumping over 4%. Gold and silver also crashed simultaneously, with COMEX spot gold dropping 1.79% in a single session.
Bitcoin maintains a strong positive long-term correlation with US growth tech stocks. In a strong USD, high Treasury yield environment, capital flows out of non-yield-bearing crypto assets toward risk-free bonds and USD cash. Sustained liquidity compression compresses valuations of highly volatile risk assets, driving institutional investors to redeem spot Bitcoin ETFs and creating persistent selling pressure.

Part 3: US Spot Bitcoin ETF Capital Flows & Institutional Holding Structural Divergence (Full June Latest Data)

The total assets under management of US spot Bitcoin ETFs now stand at $83.33 billion, representing the single largest capital variable governing short-term Bitcoin price action. A record-long streak of consecutive redemptions occurred from mid-May to early June, yet capital flows displayed clear structural divergence mid-month. Institutional capital is not exiting the crypto sector entirely, but rebalancing allocations within the asset class.

1. Review of Record Consecutive Redemption Cycle (May 15 – June 3)

Thirteen consecutive trading days of net outflows marked the longest redemption cycle since ETFs launched in 2024, with cumulative outflows exceeding $4.5 billion, equivalent to 59,400 Bitcoin. High-fee Grayscale GBTC was the primary source of outflows during this period, recording monthly redemptions over $124 million. Most institutional capital rotated out of GBTC into low-fee spot ETF products such as BlackRock IBIT, reflecting internal asset reallocation rather than mass industry-wide capital flight.
Crypto-related equities traded at depressed levels concurrently: Coinbase’s share price lost over 18% during the cycle, and Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder, saw its stock correct by a maximum of 22%. Bearish sentiment in secondary markets spilled over into spot markets, magnifying Bitcoin’s downside moves.

2. Latest Inflow Signals & Structural Divergence (June 16–18)

Temporary net inflows materialized on June 16, with the market recording 1,957 Bitcoin in net inflows for the session, worth approximately $205.89 million. BlackRock’s iShares IBIT single-handedly absorbed 6,088 Bitcoin ($640 million). With total holdings of 680,337 Bitcoin, IBIT remains the world’s largest spot Bitcoin ETF by AUM. Flagship low-cost products Fidelity FBTC and Morgan Stanley MSBT also posted modest net inflows.
However, risk-off sentiment ahead of the Fed meeting shifted flows back to net outflows on June 17, widening market segmentation. Grayscale GBTC shed $124 million in a single day, while Ark Fund’s ARKB recorded $6.63 million in redemptions. A clear tiered capital pattern emerged: retail-held high-expense-ratio funds face persistent redemptions, while institutional-focused low-fee vehicles attract steady inflows.
Beyond standard spot ETFs, BlackRock recently launched the iShares Bitcoin Income ETF (BITA) with an expense ratio of 0.65% and monthly distribution structures. The product generates consistent income by holding spot Bitcoin while selling covered call options. It raised over $1.2 billion within two weeks of listing, emerging as a favored allocation tool for institutions hedging Bitcoin volatility while securing steady cash flow yields.

Part 4: Latest Progress on US CLARITY Crypto Regulatory Bill & Conflicting Industry Stakeholder Interests

1. Stalled CLARITY Federal Crypto Bill; Over 200 Industry Firms Petition Senate

More than 200 global leading crypto corporations including Coinbase, Circle and Ripple co-signed an open letter to the US Senate, urging an early full-chamber vote on the CLARITY Act. The bill has already cleared preliminary reviews in the House of Representatives and Senate Banking Committee. Its core provisions clearly delineate regulatory jurisdiction: commodity-based digital assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum fall under the oversight of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), while scarce tokenized securities are regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), resolving long-standing ambiguity over Bitcoin’s legal classification.