Citigroup retracted its cryptocurrency forecasts Tuesday after ETF flows, which had been driving the bitcoin market upwards in the past year, reversed.
Bank now sees The price of bitcoin is down to $82,000 annually, from $112,000. This is the second cut Citi made to those figures in 2026. A previous round of reductions had already brought bitcoin from $143,000 down to $16,000.
Citi’s thinking about Bitcoin ETFs changed dramatically. It had previously projected $10 billion in net inflows for the next year. The bank now anticipates zero.
That is a big swing, and it reflects what has happened in the funds themselves: BTC ETFs have shed roughly $3.3 billion in 2026, and June alone saw $4 billion walk out the door — the worst month on record for the products.
Citi’s analyst attributed this downgrade to the combination of weaker investor demand, these negative ETF flow, and Washington still not having passed legislation governing digital assets.
The companies also expressed a specific concern: digital assets treasury firms, who have piled up bitcoins, might start selling. Crypto has now become a defensive strategy.
It could get much worse. Citi’s bear case — built on a recession and a steady drip of ETF withdrawals — puts BTC at $53,000 over the next 12 months.
Bitcoin price jumps above $60,000
Bitcoin is currently trading at $60,004, up by $1,698 (2.91%) on the day.
In the last 24 hours, the price has fluctuated between $57,717.55 (low) and $60,473.99 (high). The biggest jump occurred after 9 am, when the price jumped from $58,500 to over $60,000.
The volume was 446 377 BTC or approximately $26,85 billion. According to estimates, the market cap is $1.20 trillion. Bitcoin Magazine data.
Citizen Back in April said Bitcoin could be added to gold in order to improve the performance of a portfolio. This is because dividing a gold allocation by 5% between both assets would increase returns and provide better resistance during times of inflationary or bond market stress.
BTC is also a hedge asset that can be used for geopolitical purposes. The analysts point out the strong price movement, the bearish positions of derivatives, which could lead to further gains and BTC’s performance over gold during recent market turmoil.
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Source: bitcoinmagazine.com
