Bitcoin Prices Climb Above $61,000, Despite Lingering Downtrend

Bitcoin broke a 10-day negative streak with $222 million inflows, surging to $61,000. This price recovery occurred despite the market's overall downtrend and follows weak US jobs data, which sparked hopes for a Fed rate cut.

Bitcoin climbed back above $61,000 on July 3, 2026, opening near $61,493 and pushing past $61,800 intraday, as US spot Bitcoin ETFs snapped a 10-session outflow streak with $222.1 million in net inflows on July 2, the first positive day since June 16 .

The move is a relief bounce inside a much steeper drawdown: bitcoin remains more than 50% below its October 2025 all-time high near $126,000, and 2026 has been dominated by institutional ETF redemptions and broader risk-off flows that at times pulled the price into the mid-$50,000s . Friday's rebound came despite that lingering multi-month downtrend, not as a reversal of it. The rally was driven largely by soft US labor data: June nonfarm payrolls added just 57,000 jobs and the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2%, both weaker than expected, reviving hopes the Federal Reserve could cut rates later this month .

ETF flows were uneven beneath the headline number: Fidelity's FBTC led inflows with $166 million and ARK/21Shares' ARKB added $91.8 million, while BlackRock's IBIT was the lone holdout, posting its 11th straight day of outflows ($40.4 million) for roughly $2.2 billion redeemed since mid-June . The inflow print also landed alongside fresh scrutiny of President Trump's crypto exposure: his June 30 annual financial disclosure revealed direct bitcoin holdings above $50 million and total crypto-related exposure exceeding $500 million, adding a political dimension to an otherwise market-driven story . Bitcoin's move also stood out for its continued decoupling from equities: tech stocks have rallied for most of the second quarter on AI-driven earnings while bitcoin lagged, a divergence strategists tie to a stronger dollar and elevated Treasury yields weighing on non-yielding assets.

Whether the July 2 inflow marks a durable bottom or a one-off pause in redemptions likely hinges on the Fed's late-July meeting and whether labor-market weakness persists. Traders are watching a break above roughly $63,800 as a signal the downtrend could be ending, while a drop back below $56,000 would reopen the path toward the low-$50,000s. This is market commentary, not investment advice.