Bitcoin traded flat near $64,000 on Wednesday while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones closed at record highs, exposing a rare split between crypto and stocks. U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs have shed $5.4 billion this year, and Tether's market cap has contracted $4 billion in 60 days as capital drains from the sector.
Bitcoin added 0.16% since midnight UTC to trade near $64,038.50. It barely moved even as global equities climbed on optimism over AI and progress toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which pushed oil prices lower.
It now sits about 48% below its October 2025 all-time high above $126,000, down roughly 30% year-to-date. The S&P 500, by contrast, trades between 7,600 and 7,763, and the Nasdaq is posting double-digit gains on strong tech earnings. Bitcoin and the S&P 500 typically move together through a correlation that has exceeded 70%, making the current divergence unusual.
Stocks pull away while crypto stalls
MSCI's All Country World Index climbed 0.4% toward a fresh record close. Australian shares hit a new peak after the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at all-time highs Tuesday. The broader CoinDesk 20 index, however, was unchanged since midnight, with 11 components rising and nine declining. Global M2 money supply has also climbed to approximately $135 trillion, liquidity that has historically lifted bitcoin — yet the price is not responding.
ETF outflows and a cooling market
Spot bitcoin ETFs have felt the shift most directly. They recorded $5.4 billion of net outflows in the first half of the year as capital rotated into AI-linked assets. According to DWF Labs: "Institutional and retail interest in crypto as an investment has cooled" as AI absorbs a disproportionate share of capital and attention.
Miners keep selling as the price lags
Bitcoin's hashrate hit an all-time high in 2026, showing miners keep committing resources even as the price falls. Miners must cover operating costs regardless of price, so they keep selling into an already soft market. Heavy options open interest at certain strikes has also been flagged as a factor pinning the price in its current range near major expiry dates.
Tether contraction flashes a mixed signal
Tether's market cap has shrunk by $4 billion over 60 days, one of the steepest contractions on record, according to CryptoQuant. The stablecoin's supply expands when new money enters crypto and contracts when it leaves, so the drop points to capital exiting the market.
CryptoQuant frames the move as near exhaustion, noting that the deepest contractions have historically lined up closer to the end of selling than the start of a new leg down. Past troughs of similar depth, in early 2023 and mid-2026, preceded bitcoin recoveries. But bitcoin has also moved sideways since May, so the contraction could equally reflect fading demand.
A bottom call holds only once USDT supply turns higher again — it hasn't yet.
Sources: CoinDesk, Crypto Briefing
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