The price of digital gold could drop to $60,000 amid escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and the EU, according to macroeconomist Luke Gromen.
He believes that mass sell-offs and institutional fund withdrawals could also be triggered by the international isolation of the United States and an economic recession.
Moreover, Gromen emphasized that institutional investors are unlikely to drive the first cryptocurrency to a new high this year without a "strong fundamental catalyst."
“If you expect institutional investors to push the price from $90,000 to $150,000, that’s unlikely to happen without a serious catalyst. That’s not how institutional investors operate. They will wait,” he said.
For such growth, Bitcoin would need to rise over 65% from its current level around $89,800.
As key growth drivers, the analyst highlighted the passage of the Clarity Act in the U.S. and potential new quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve.
Institutional Demand Remains Strong
Ki Young Ju, CEO of the analytics platform CryptoQuant, noted that "institutional demand for Bitcoin remains strong."
Institutional demand for Bitcoin remains strong.
— Ki Young Ju (@ki_young_ju) January 19, 2026
US custody wallets typically hold 100-1,000 BTC each. Excluding exchanges and miners, this gives a rough read on institutional demand. ETF holdings included.
577K BTC ($53B) added over the past year, and still flowing in. pic.twitter.com/kG1c8dTvlq
“American custody wallets typically contain between 100 and 1,000 BTC each. Excluding exchanges and miners provides an approximate measure of institutional demand. ETFs are included,” he wrote.
According to the expert, large investors purchased 577,000 BTC worth $53 billion over the past year, and the inflow of funds continues, Ju noted.
ETFs Lose Capital
In the latest trading session, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced a loss of $708.7 million, marking the largest daily outflow in two months.
The largest losses were seen by BlackRock's IBIT, which lost $356.6 million, followed by Fidelity's FBTC with an outflow of $287.7 million.
Investors withdrew $286.9 million from Ethereum ETFs, primarily from BlackRock's ETHA, which accounted for $250.3 million.
Analyst Rachel Lucas from BTC Markets believes that the negative trend is not due to structural weakness; rather, the outflows are a result of "classic risk reduction."
“When macro conditions worsen—interest rates rise, geopolitical tensions escalate, or sudden volatility occurs—institutions typically withdraw funds from high-beta assets first,” she commented.
On January 21, Bitcoin's price fell below $88,000 amid a stock market crash due to rising tensions between the U.S. and the EU.
Prices soon stabilized, aided by U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of an agreement regarding Greenland. The politician also decided against imposing tariffs on imports from European countries in February.
“Despite the challenging macro context, the crypto market is showing relative resilience as positions normalize,” noted Vincent Liu, Chief Investment Officer at Kronos Research.
It’s worth mentioning that ARK Invest founder Cathie Wood predicted Bitcoin could reach $761,900 by 2030.