The Daily: Bitcoin hits yearly low in crypto sell-off, ETFs see over half a billion dollars in outflows and more

The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter,  The Daily , which comes out on weekday afternoons.

Happy Tuesday! The crypto price rout continues amid Trump tariff uncertainty — but is it time to buy the dip yet?

In today's newsletter, bitcoin plunges to yearly lows, spot ETFs see more than half a billion dollars in daily outflows, Ethereum Foundation's Aya Miyaguchi transitions from Executive Director to President and more.

Meanwhile, a waste management expert says the chances of finding a hard drive, key to a $669 million bitcoin fortune lost to landfill, are 1 in 902 million — a claim owner James Howells "profoundly rejects."

Let's get started.

Bitcoin drops to yearly low in crypto sell-off

Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies continued to drop significantly on Tuesday amid market uncertainty surrounding President Trump's new tariffs on Canada and Mexico.

• Bitcoin fell more than 8% in the past 24 hours, dropping below $86,000 at one point, with ETH, XRP and SOL seeing steeper declines of over 10%.
• The GMCI 30 index, which represents a selection of the top 30 cryptocurrencies, is down 9.6% over the past day.
• On Monday, Trump announced his intention to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico once the current 30-day suspension expires next week — contributing to a risk-off mood in traditional markets, too.
• The growing bearishness is also reflected in the Crypto Fear and Greed Index — a market gauge that analyzes social media activity, volatility, trends and prices — which recently fell to a five-month low of 25.
• Standard Chartered Global Head of Digital Assets Research Geoffrey Kendrick anticipates a potential rebound in the medium term, noting that lower U.S. Treasury yields — driven by risk-off sentiment following Friday's PMI data — could ultimately benefit bitcoin.
• Traders are also watching upcoming U.S. inflation figures for signs of a potential bullish reversal if the data trend toward the Federal Reserve's target, with analysts at Bernstein still reiterating their $200,000 bitcoin price prediction by year-end.
• "But do not buy the dip yet, a move to the low $80,000s is on," Kendrick said.

Bitcoin ETFs see over half a billion dollars in daily outflows

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw $539 million in net daily outflows on Monday, led by $247 million from Fidelity's FBTC , marking the fifth-largest outflow to date.

• The Bitcoin ETFs' five-day outflow streak has now reached $1.1 billion. However, total cumulative net inflows remain above $39 billion, with $111 billion in assets under management.
• Meanwhile, the U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs saw $78 million worth of net outflows on Monday, led by BlackRock's ETHA , with their three-day outflow streak now totaling $100 million.
• However, the outflows are not "outlandish," according to Bitcoin Opportunity Fund Co-Managing Partner David Foley. "It all feels very controlled to us after a major run up in November and December and now investors starting Q1 2025 assessing general economic and asset market directions for the year," he told The Block.

Bitwise raises $70 million

Another U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF issuer, Bitwise, announced it raised $70 million from investors , including Electric Capital, MassMutual and Haun Ventures, to expand its crypto asset management operations.

• "Bitwise has completed a $70 million round of funding from top financial institutions and technology investors as we continue building the leading crypto asset management firm," Bitwise said on Tuesday.
• Bitwise has over 100 employees and oversees $12 billion in client assets. "We will continue to invest in the team and in new solutions across beta, alpha and onchain," the company added.
• The firm's spot Bitcoin ETF product, BITB , launched in January 2024, currently manages around $4 billion in assets, compared to $291 million for its Ethereum ETF, ETHW , which debuted last July.

Ethereum Foundation's Aya Miyaguchi transitions from Executive Director to President

Ethereum Foundation Executive Director Aya Miyaguchi is "stepping up" as President of the non-profit organization amid public scrutiny of her leadership from some community members.

• The decision has been in the works for about a year, according to a Tuesday blog post, with Miyaguchi continuing to support the EF's institutional relationships and community development in her new role.
• "[Miyaguchi] has accomplished much in her seven years as Executive Director of the EF," Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said on X, adding that the EF is also working to revamp its leadership structure.
• Many have called to nominate former EF researcher Danny Ryan, who led Ethereum's switch to proof-of-stake, as the EF's new lead director.

SBF returns to X, causing FTT to soar briefly

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried posted on X early Tuesday for the first time since January 2023, deciding to share his views on recent U.S. government layoffs by the Trump administration.

• "I have a lot of sympathy for gov't employees: I, too, have not checked my email for the past few (hundred) days," Bankman-Fried wrote. "And I can confirm that being unemployed is a lot less relaxing than it looks."
• FTT, the token associated with the now-defunct crypto exchange, briefly surged over 29% following the post before retracing most of the move.
• Bankman-Fried, currently serving a 25-year sentence for defrauding investors, is seeking a pardon from Trump and appealing his conviction.

In the next 24 hours

• U.S. mortgage data are out at 7 a.m. ET on Wednesday.
• U.S. FOMC members Thomas Barkin and Raphael Bostic will speak at 8:30 a.m. and 12 p.m., respectively.
• Ethena will unlock 7.93 million ENA tokens worth $3.2 million, 0.25% of its circulating supply.
• ETHDenver continues.

Never miss a beat with The Block's  daily digest  of the most influential events happening across the digital asset ecosystem.