PCE Report In Line: Bitcoin Still Drops Below $73K After 1.6% GDP Revision, ETF Selling Pressure

• First-quarter U.S. GDP growth was revised down to 1.6%, below economists' expectations of 2%.
• Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded their eighth consecutive day of outflows, including a record single-day withdrawal from BlackRock’s IBIT fund.
• Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around Bitcoin deteriorated into ‘extremely bearish’ territory while chatter surged to ‘high’ levels.

Bitcoin (BTC) fell below $73,000 on Thursday morning despite the personal consumption expenditure (PCE) report coming in line with expectations after the first-quarter GDP was revised downward.

Bitcoin’s price dropped 2.7% in the last 24 hours to around $72,800 and was the top trending ticker on Stocktwits at the time of writing. Retail sentiment around the apex cryptocurrency dipped to ‘extremely bearish’ from ‘bearish’ territory over the past day, while chatter rose to ‘high’ from ‘normal’ levels. 

The dip came after the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) revised the first quarter (Q1) GDP downward to 1.6%, from its previous estimate of 2%, falling short of Wall Street’s expectations of 2% growth.

The revision marked the second consecutive quarter in which GDP growth came in below Wall Street expectations. Fourth-quarter (Q4) growth was previously reported at 0.5%, below forecasts of 0.7%.

Bitcoin Drops Despite Stable Inflation Data

The PCE Index, which is the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of inflation, rose 3.8% in April, in line with analyst forecasts. The Commerce Department data showed that core PCE, which excludes food and energy, rose 3.3% on an annualized basis in April, up 0.2% on a monthly basis.

The macroeconomic backdrop amid rising ETF outflows added pressure to the cryptocurrency market. U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs logged their eighth straight day of outflows on Wednesday of $733 million, the longest losing streak since December, according to data on SoSoValue. Last week alone saw $1.26 billion pulled from Bitcoin ETFs, marking the second straight week with billion-dollar exits. 

BlackRock ETF Withdrawal Shakes Crypto Market

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) accounted for $527.8 million of the outflows on Wednesday, its largest single-day withdrawal since launch. This follows a massive dark-pool transaction involving 29 million shares worth roughly $1.29 billion on Tuesday.

IBIT's price fell in tandem with Bitcoin's price in morning trade on Thursday. Retail sentiment around the Bitcoin fund on Stocktwits also saw retail sentiment drop to 'extremely bearish' from 'bearish' territory over the past day, but chatter stayed at 'normal' levels.

Retail traders on Stocktwits were worried that Bitcoin’s price is likely to head lower in the coming days, especially if Strategy (MSTR) executive chairman decides to sell some of the company’s BTC holdings. MSTR was also among the top trending tickeres on Stocktwits at the time of writing. MSTR's stock fell nearly 5% in morning trade, with retail sentiment moving lower within 'extremely bearish' territory.

CoinGlass data showed over $900 million in crypto bets had been liquidated over the last 24 hours. Bitcoin’s price has fallen over 16% this year and more than 33% in the last 12 months.

Read also: ‘Trump Dump’ – Nearly $1B Wiped From Crypto Markets As Bitcoin Slips To $73K

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