6 mins ago – 4.30AMBitcoin extends slideBloombergBitcoin extended its slide back toward the $US60,000 level. The decline is driven by mounting concerns over the unravelling of Strategy’s funding mechanism, alongside rate-hike fears that are dampening demand for riskier assets.The largest cryptocurrency had dropped below that threshold two weeks ago for the first time since late 2024. The token — down as much as 3.3 per cent to $US62,229 on Thursday — has lost around 50 per cent of its value since reaching a record high in October of that year.Traders have been fixated on the price of Strategy’s Stretch, or STRC, preferred shares that the biggest corporate buyer of Bitcoin has been using to fund recent purchases.The price has fallen below par, making it unprofitable for the Michael Saylor-led firm to sell the hybrid securities. Saylor spooked the market at the start of the month by selling a small amount of Bitcoin after encouraging holders for years to never sell their tokens.“All eyes are on STRC price as a measure of market pressure on Strategy. The market is likely to test the company’s resolve to continue buying BTC instead of selling a block to shore up cash reserves and extend the STRC dividend runway,” said Joshua Lim, global co-head of markets at FalconX.