Bitcoin price started a downside correction from the $78,000 zone. BTC is consolidating and might aim for a fresh increase if it clears $78,000. Bitcoin failed to stay above $77,500 and extended losses. The price is trading below $77,000 and the 100 hourly simple moving average. There was a break below a contracting triangle with support at $76,750 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken). The pair might extend losses if it stays below the $76,200 and $76,000 levels. Bitcoin Price Faces Resistance Bitcoin price failed to clear the $78,000 resistance zone. BTC started a downside correction from the $77,809 swing high and traded below $77,500. There was a move below the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $74,209 swing low to the $77,809 high. Besides, there was a break below a contracting triangle with support at $76,750 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair. However, the bulls are active above $76,000. Bitcoin is now trading below $77,000 and the 100 hourly simple moving average. If the price remains stable above $76,000, it could attempt a fresh increase. Immediate resistance is near the $76,750 level. The first key resistance is near the $77,200 level. A close above the $77,200 resistance might send the price further higher. In the stated case, the price could rise and test the $77,800 resistance. Any more gains might send the price toward the $78,000 level. The next barrier for the bulls could be $79,500. Downside Extension In BTC? If Bitcoin fails to rise above the $77,200 resistance zone, it could start another decline. Immediate support is near the $76,000 level or the 50% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $74,209 swing low to the $77,809 high. The first major support is near the $75,500 level. The next support is now near the $75,000 zone. Any more losses might send the price toward the $74,000 support in the near term. The main support now sits at $73,500, below which BTC might struggle to recover in the near term. Technical indicators: Hourly MACD – The MACD is now gaining pace in the bearish zone. Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for BTC/USD is now below the 50 level. Major Support Levels – $76,000, followed by $75,000. Major Resistance Levels – $77,200 and $78,000.
A closely watched on-chain indicator has returned to a range that has marked major turning points in Bitcoin’s price history, and some analysts say the setup looks familiar. The Bitcoin Fund Flow Ratio on Binance has dropped to between 0.010 and 0.012 — a level reached only five other times since 2018, each preceding a significant recovery. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bull Thesis Goes Big: 39 Trillion Reasons To Buy, Says Gemini Founder The metric tracks how much Bitcoin activity is happening on exchanges relative to the broader network. When the ratio falls, it means fewer coins are moving to exchanges, which typically signals weaker selling pressure. Analyst MorenoDV, citing CryptoQuant data, described the current setup as a “decision zone.” Bitcoin could stay weak if demand remains low, or selling exhaustion could quietly lay the groundwork for the next move up. When Attention Fades, Bears Feel Safe That idea runs through a broader argument being made by market commentators right now. Rand Group, posting on X, pointed to Bitcoin’s Sell-Side Risk Ratio chart and argued that some of the asset’s most explosive moves came right after periods when almost nobody was paying attention. Every time “no one cares about Bitcoin” it bounces the hardest Are you paying attention or nah? pic.twitter.com/r7iSTorbgV — Rand Group (@randgroup) May 22, 2026 Historical data backs that up. Reports indicate that similar low-interest phases lined up with Bitcoin trading near $3,000 in late 2018, around $9,000 in 2020, and close to $25,000 in 2023 — all of which turned out to be bottoms before sharp upward moves. Each time, selling pressure had dried up before buyers returned in force. Macro analyst Brian Truong expanded on the pattern, saying that low attention combined with fading sell pressure has historically created the conditions for sudden reversals. Bears feel confident. Then the market moves against them. Bitcoin’s Fund Flow Ratio Returns to the Zone That’s Marked Every Major Turn “Bitcoin is approaching a decision zone: either demand remains weak, and the compression reflects apathy, or sell-side exhaustion becomes the foundation for the next recovery phase.” – By @MorenoDV_ pic.twitter.com/mox08h9etV — CryptoQuant.com (@cryptoquant_com) May 22, 2026 ETF Outflows Cloud The Picture The bullish on-chain signals, though, are colliding with real short-term pressure. Bitcoin dropped 3.50% in 24 hours to $74,750, dragged down by institutional selling and heavy outflows from US spot Bitcoin ETFs — roughly $1.4 billion pulled out over the past week alone. Related Reading: History Shows Bitcoin ETF Outflows Favor Accumulation, Says Santiment Rising yields are adding to the weight. The 30-year US Treasury yield has climbed above 5%, making traditional fixed-income assets more attractive compared to non-yielding ones like Bitcoin. Still, some analysts believe the broader picture matters more right now than the day-to-day price action. Based on reports, the same combination of low exchange flow and reduced market noise has preceded every major recovery Bitcoin has staged over the past several years. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
On-chain data shows a net amount of Bitcoin has been flowing into Binance for 10 days now, a potential sign that investors have been looking to sell. Bitcoin Exchange Netflow Has Remained Positive For Binance Recently As pointed out by CryptoQuant author Darkfrost in an X post, investors have been depositing their Bitcoin to Binance recently. The on-chain metric of relevance here is the “Exchange Netflow,” which tracks the total amount of BTC that’s currently moving into or out of the wallets connected to a centralized exchange. When the value of the metric is positive, it means holders are transferring a net number of tokens to the platform. As one of the main reasons why investors deposit to exchanges is for selling-related purposes, this kind of trend can have a bearish implication for the asset’s price. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bull Run ‘Not There Yet,’ Warns CryptoQuant Founder On the other hand, the indicator being below the zero mark suggests withdrawals are dominating deposits on the exchange. Such a trend can be a sign that investors are accumulating, which can naturally be bullish for BTC. Now, here is the chart shared by Darkfrost that shows the trend in the Bitcoin Exchange Netflow for Binance, the largest platform by trading volume, over the past ten days: As displayed in the above graph, the Binance Bitcoin Exchange Netflow has remained at a positive level throughout this window, implying net inflows have been occurring. The scale of the inflows has varied each day, but there has been an overall surge in the amount of BTC being deposited to the exchange during the last 10 days. More specifically, May 16th saw a net 378 BTC enter Binance-associated wallets, while today the same figure has risen to 1,190 BTC. This means that inflows have more than tripled over the period. “The largest single day recorded over 3,600 BTC on May 18th, a relatively high level for a single day that clearly illustrates the intensity of the movement,” noted the analyst. Related Reading: Not Bitcoin: US Government Bets $2 Billion On Quantum Instead The sustained deposits have meant that the Exchange Reserve of Binance (that is, the total amount of Bitcoin sitting on the platform) has followed an uptrend recently. From the chart, it’s apparent that the Bitcoin Exchange Reserve on Binance hit a low of 616,000 BTC on April 24th. The metric has since surged to 632,000 BTC, suggesting a net inflow of 16,000 BTC into the exchange. “When inflows become dominant and consistent on a platform like Binance, this is traditionally interpreted as a potential sell signal,” said Darkfrost. BTC Price At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $77,400, unchanged from one week ago. Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView.com
Strategy currently holds 843,738 BTC valued at around $65 billion, making it one of the largest corporate holders of the cryptocurrency in the world. The company paid roughly $63 billion to acquire that stash, leaving it sitting on about $1.50 billion in unrealized profit. Related Reading: History Shows Bitcoin ETF Outflows Favor Accumulation, Says Santiment A Brief Pause, Not A Retreat None of that stopped Michael Saylor from announcing something that caught the crypto market off guard this week. The executive chairman confirmed on X that Strategy bought bonds this week instead of adding to its Bitcoin pile, writing that “the BitVac is charging” — a phrase suggesting the pause is temporary and the buying machine is being readied again. The move comes as Strategy works through a plan to repurchase close to $1.5 billion in face value of its 0% convertible senior notes due 2029. Reports indicate the company expects to pay around $1.38 billion in cash, drawing on existing reserves, stock sales through its at-the-market program, and potentially some Bitcoin sales to cover the cost. This week we bought bonds, not bitcoin. The ₿itVac is charging. pic.twitter.com/yUpVNiNTPT — Michael Saylor (@saylor) May 24, 2026 Debt Reduction And What It Means For Shareholders Retiring that debt at a discount has a direct effect on shareholders. Fewer convertible notes outstanding means less potential dilution from future share conversions, which in turn raises the amount of Bitcoin represented by each share of MSTR stock. Strategy’s last big Bitcoin acquisition saw it pick up 24,869 BTC for roughly $2 billion, funded through sales of its STRC perpetual preferred shares and MSTR stock. Based on reports, no Bitcoin was sold to fund this week’s bond purchases, leaving the company’s BTC holdings intact. MSTR Stock Under Pressure The announcement did little to calm investors already rattled by recent selling from inside the company. MSTR stock finished Friday down 3% at $159.89 and has fallen more than 5% over the past week, with reports pointing to share sales by CFO Andrew Kang and director Jarrod Patten as part of the pressure on the stock. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bull Thesis Goes Big: 39 Trillion Reasons To Buy, Says Gemini Founder Saylor has long described his approach as “Bitcoin forever,” and Strategy has raised billions through various financial instruments to keep buying. By pulling back on fresh purchases this week to clean up its debt picture, Strategy appears to be preparing its balance sheet for the next round of accumulation rather than stepping away from the trade. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
Crypto pundit Ardizor has alleged that several crypto firms appear to be dumping Bitcoin, which is why the BTC price keeps crashing. The leading crypto had crashed over the weekend but is now recovering on hopes of a U.S.-Iran deal. Why The BTC Price Keeps Crashing In an X post, Ardizor stated that the BTC price was dumping because crypto exchanges Binance, Coinbase, and Bybit, along with whales and Wintermute, were selling millions of BTC. He claimed that they have sold over $2 billion worth of BTC and further alleged that it was a “pure, coordinated dump,” which usually comes after the U.S. market opens. Related Reading: Everyone Is Calling For Lower Bitcoin Price: Why This Is The Perfect Time To Go Parabolic The pundit cited on-chain flows from these crypto exchanges’ hot wallets as evidence that they were dumping Bitcoin. The latest dump in the BTC price came over the weekend, with the leading crypto falling below $75,000 after the SEC was reported to have delayed its decision on tokenized stocks due to regulatory concerns. Bitcoin also dropped as market participants further priced in the possibility of a Fed rate hike this year. However, the BTC price is recovering again following the crash below $75,000, on the back of optimism that the U.S. and Iran may be nearing a deal to end the war. U.S. President Donald Trump had said over the weekend that the draft deal had been largely negotiated, signaling that they could announce a peace deal soon. Furthermore, the BTC price and the broader crypto market are also recovering on the back of the decline in oil prices. Oil prices have dropped after Trump said the Strait of Hormuz will reopen under this deal, a move that could also ease inflationary pressures. What’s Next For Bitcoin Crypto analyst Ted Pillows noted that the BTC price closed above $75,000, and now the key zone to reclaim is between $77,500 and $78,000, with a rally towards the psychological $80,000 zone. He warned that if Bitcoin fails to hold above $78,000, it will likely sweep the $75,000 zone again. Meanwhile, crypto analyst Max noted that many low-leverage long liquidations were wiped out on the BTC price decline below $75,000. He stated that this now leaves only one decent cluster below, which will get swept if the price takes out the previous low at $74,200. At the same time, he pointed to another cluster around the $80,000 mark. Related Reading: Bitcoin Price Breaks 14-Year Support For The First Time In History, Analyst Predicts $50,000 Target The analyst acknowledged that a retest of the $80,000 range was still possible from a liquidity perspective, but that the current market structure favors another sweep lower. In line with this, Max said he expects the liquidity below to be taken out this week, unless the BTC price prints a higher high, invalidating the bearish structure. At the time of writing, the Bitcoin price is trading at around $77,300, up in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com
Bitcoin is struggling to push above $78,000 as the market faces uncertainty that has made directional conviction difficult to sustain. The price is grinding. Not breaking down catastrophically, but not advancing either. A CryptoOnchain report combining US Spot ETF flow data with Binance on-chain metrics has identified a structural divergence beneath the surface. Explaining why the recovery has stalled at precisely the moment it should be building momentum. Related Reading: FET Exchange Supply Is Quietly Disappearing – Discover Why Traders Are Watching Closely The report’s opening finding is the most alarming available in the current market structure. Over the past two weeks, US Spot Bitcoin ETFs have recorded net outflows exceeding $1.74 billion. The institutional bid that drove the most significant phase of Bitcoin’s recovery from the cycle lows has not simply paused — it has reversed. Wall Street is not buying the dip. It is selling into whatever strength the market produces. The Coinbase Premium Gap confirms the institutional withdrawal with independent evidence. The premium — which measures the price difference between Coinbase and offshore exchanges and functions as the most direct available gauge of US institutional spot demand — has crashed by 948% on a 90-day comparison, falling deep into negative territory. Two separate data points, measuring the same phenomenon from different angles, arrive at the same conclusion simultaneously. The institution that was buying Bitcoin is no longer buying Bitcoin. What CryptoOnchain has identified is who stepped in to take the other side of that exit — and the answer is the most alarming element of what the data is currently showing. Four Data Points That Show Who Is Selling The CryptoOnchain report traces exactly where the $1.74 billion in institutional supply is going after it leaves the ETF structure. Binance BTC Netflows have surged 425% above the 90-day baseline — a massive wall of spot supply arriving on the world’s largest exchange simultaneously. The composition of that supply adds the detail that removes any ambiguity about who is selling: coins aged six to twelve months are moving at a rate 450% above their historical baseline — the classic on-chain fingerprint of holders who accumulated during last year’s recovery and are now taking profits as institutional demand evaporates beneath them. The Great US Bitcoin Exodus | Source: CryptoQuant The dry powder that would be needed to absorb the incoming Bitcoin supply is not there. Supply is arriving. Buying power is leaving. The imbalance between those two flows is the structural condition that precedes forced price adjustment. The retail positioning data completes the picture — and it is the most alarming element of the four. Despite $1.74 billion in ETF outflows, a Coinbase Premium in deep negative territory, and a network valuation metric that has spiked 1,900% above baseline, Binance Funding Rates remain structurally positive at 434% above the norm. Retail traders are paying a premium to stay leveraged long in a market where institutional spot demand has collapsed, supply is flooding exchanges, and buying power has evaporated. The CryptoOnchain conclusion is direct. Heavy ETF outflows, shrinking stablecoin liquidity, and crowded retail longs have historically created the conditions for severe downward liquidation cascades. The structure is in place. The trigger — a return of institutional buying through positive ETF flows and a recovering Coinbase Premium — has not yet appeared. Related Reading: Kevin Warsh’s Fed Era Could Change Bitcoin Forever – Here’s The First Signal To Watch Bitcoin Consolidates Below $78K Bitcoin continues consolidating below the critical $78,000 resistance zone after failing to sustain momentum above the May highs near $82,000. The daily chart shows a market caught between weakening bullish momentum and still-active buyer support, creating a tightening structure that increasingly resembles a decision point rather than a stable consolidation. Bitcoin struggling below $78K level | Source: BTCUSDT chart on TradingView Technically, BTC remains above the 50-day moving average near the $75,000 region, which is currently acting as the market’s primary short-term support. Buyers have repeatedly defended this level during the recent pullback, preventing the price from revisiting the broader demand zone between $71,000 and $73,000 highlighted on the chart. That area now represents the most important structural support for the current recovery trend. Related Reading: Chainlink Sees Historic On-Chain Surge While Exchange Supply Keeps Shrinking – Details However, the inability to reclaim the descending 200-day moving average near the low-$80,000 region continues to limit upside expansion. Bitcoin briefly pushed into that resistance area earlier this month before sellers aggressively absorbed the breakout attempt, triggering a retrace back toward current levels. As long as BTC holds above $75,000, the broader recovery structure remains intact. But losing that level decisively would likely expose the market to a deeper correction toward the $71,000 support range. Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com
Bitcoin’s latest price action has run into a technical wall, and crypto analyst Merlijn The Trader believes the rejection could become more serious if one nearby support level fails. Particularly, technical analysis shows that the price action looks uncomfortably close to a crash under $76,000. Bitcoin’s 200-Day Moving Average Has Become The First Major Rejection Zone Bitcoin reached $82,400 on May 6 before stalling at the 200-day moving average, pulling back to as low as $74,000 during the most recent weekend. Merlijn’s chart analysis compares this current 2026 setup on the daily candlestick timeframe with Bitcoin’s 2022 structure. Related Reading: What Goldman Sachs Dumping Its XRP Stash Means For Holders Looking at the 2022 example, Bitcoin pushed into the 200-day moving average around $48,000 in early April, failed to hold that level, and then continued lower until the price fell to as low as $28,000 in May. That move turned out to be a decline of about 40% from the rejection area. The current chart shows a similar technical idea, although the price levels are different. Bitcoin recently attempted to recover into $80,000 in the middle of May, but the red 200-day moving average acted as a ceiling. The rejection from that zone has placed the focus on the short-term support around $76,000, which Merlijn identified as the level to watch. If $76,000 breaks, then Bitcoin could play out a price action similar to the 2022 one. Bitcoin Price Chart. Source: @MerlijnTrader On X Losing $76,000 Could Speed Up Drop Below $67,000 According to analysts at K33 Research, Bitcoin’s rejection at the 200-day moving average mirrors patterns seen during previous market cycles in 2014, 2018, and 2022.The most important level for Bitcoin bulls to hold now is $76,000. A move below $76,000 would weaken the pattern because it would erase the higher-low structure that formed after Bitcoin’s push from the mid-$70,000 range in May. “Lose it, the move accelerates,” the analyst said. Related Reading: Pundit Predicts What Will Happen To XRP When Exchanges Run Out Of Supply If $76,000 breaks, Merlijn has a clear first downside target: the $67,000 CME gap. CME gaps form because Bitcoin is always trading continuously on crypto exchanges even on weekends, but CME futures pause during weekends and market closures. A gap can appear on the chart when futures reopen at a different price from where they closed, and most of the time, this gap always acts as a price magnet. Right now, Bitcoin is trading at $77,233, which means it has not confirmed the bearish follow-through Merlijn is warning about. However, as long as Bitcoin keeps trading below the 200-day moving average and keeps pressing against $76,000, then there’s a possibility that it will fall to the $67,000 CME gap. On the other hand, a reclaim of the $79,000 to $80,000 range this week would reduce the immediate risk of a crash to $67,000. Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com
A New York man identified in court documents only as Noah Doe has filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of the State of New York seeking legal ownership of 39,069 abandoned Bitcoin wallets — assets he discovered using a self-developed algorithm, reported to the NYPD in compliance with lost and found property law, and spent over a year attempting to return to their rightful owners before filing suit. Related Reading: American Mega Bank Is Dumping Its Ethereum Holdings, Here’s What It’s Buying The First Amended Complaint, filed May 1, 2026, under index number 153119/2026 and filed through Brooklyn-based law firm Lewis & Lin LLC, lays out one of the most unusual property cases in crypto’s short legal history. Noah Doe is not a hacker. He is not a thief. Under New York Personal Property Law Article 7-B, he is arguing he is a finder — and that title to the abandoned wallets vested in him by operation of law after all reasonable efforts to locate their owners failed. How He Found The Bitcoin The story begins in October 2024, when Noah Doe identified what the complaint describes as a security vulnerability affecting digital wallets — a flaw that caused owners to lose their ability to withdraw contents, leading them to abandon the Bitcoin wallets entirely. In response, he developed what the filing calls “the Algorithm” — criteria and methods for identifying wallets meeting the legal standard for abandonment: dormant or inactive for at least five years, self-custodied rather than held by an exchange, and unresponsive through multiple periods of significant cryptocurrency price appreciation that any reasonable owner would have acted on. Between December 26, 2024 and April 14, 2025, Noah Doe ran his Algorithm and identified three separate batches of found wallets — 1,544 in December, 546 in March, and 39,911 in April — all using his personal computer in New York City. Each time, within days of discovery, he physically brought a USB drive containing the wallet addresses to the NYPD’s 17th Precinct, where officers issued receipts and property invoices, per the complaint. The NYPD took custody of each drive before returning them months later. BTC's price trends to the upside on the daily chart. Source: BTCUSD on Tradingview A Year Of Outreach Before Court What followed was an extensive, documented effort to return the wallets to their owners — conducted entirely at Noah Doe’s personal expense, per the filing. He engaged an independent expert to assess the wallets’ value — concluded at less than $10 at the time of finding given recovery uncertainty — a strategic consultant named Salomon Brothers Strategic Advisors Inc., and a separate cyber and blockchain expert to independently verify the wallets existed on-chain and had been dormant for at least five years. In late June 2025, the blockchain expert transmitted an OP_RETURN message — a technique that inserts a token into a wallet’s transaction record — to every single found wallet, directing holders to an abandonment notice webpage hosted by Salomon Brothers. The notice gave holders 90 days, until October 10, 2025, to claim ownership. A global press release followed on August 7, reaching an estimated 820 media outlets across 37 countries and up to 225 million people through direct and secondary impressions, per the complaint. Coverage included CoinDesk, Bitcoinist, Yahoo Finance, and Investing.com. Galaxy Digital separately circulated a report to its clients on the abandonment notice. Of the 42,001 total wallets found, 2,932 were subsequently removed — including 424 that took on-chain action to demonstrate they had not been abandoned. The remaining 39,069 Bitcoin wallets took no action and are the subject of the lawsuit. The Legal Question The complaint seeks a declaratory judgment — not damages, not criminal prosecution, but a judicial declaration that Noah Doe and his two assignee companies, identified as ABC Company and XYZ Company, are the legal owners of the 39,069 Abandoned Wallets and their contents under New York Personal Property Law. On December 1, 2025, Noah Doe transferred ownership rights in all but 18 of the wallets to ABC Company, which subsequently transferred 17.7% to XYZ Company. All three plaintiffs are parties to the suit. Related Reading: Bitcoin Rally Faces Fresh Test As Demand Metric Hits 2026 Low This case marks a pivotal and genuinely unprecedented moment for the nascent sector’s intersection with property law. A New York court is now being asked to rule on whether self-custodied Bitcoin wallets — dormant for six years or more, found through a proprietary algorithm, reported to police, and subjected to a year of documented outreach — constitute lost property under existing New York law, and whether their finder can legally claim title. The outcome could establish a legal framework with consequences far beyond this single case. Cover image from Grok, BTCUSD chart from Tradingview
Ethereum is losing ground inside one of America’s largest banking portfolios as Bank of America sharply pivots toward Bitcoin-linked investment products. Fresh SEC filings from the banking giant reveal a noticeable reshuffling of its crypto exposure during the first quarter, with Ethereum and Solana positions reduced while Bitcoin allocations expanded aggressively through spot ETFs and indirect treasury exposure. Ethereum Retreats, Bitcoin Expands The latest 13F filing from Bank of America paints a clear picture of where institutional conviction is shifting. While the bank still maintains exposure across several crypto-related products, recent reports indicate that Bitcoin now dominates its digital asset strategy by a wide margin. Related Reading: Bitcoin Upper Trendline Resistance Is Holding Price Back, Can It Push It Below $60,000? Analyst Answers At the center of that move is BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which became the bank’s largest crypto holding after a substantial increase during the quarter. Regulatory documents show Bank of America lifted its IBIT exposure to roughly $37 million, making the ETF responsible for nearly 70% of the bank’s crypto investment portfolio while holding 972,590 shares of the fund. At the same time, exposure tied to Ethereum products moved in the opposite direction. The filing reflected a reduction in Ethereum-linked allocations alongside cuts to Solana-related investment products. Smaller holdings connected to XRP and Solana ETFs also appeared in the disclosure, though the bank’s allocation toward those products remained comparatively limited. Rather than spreading capital evenly across the digital asset market, the portfolio changes suggest Bank of America is concentrating on Bitcoin as the preferred institutional-grade crypto asset. Moreover, the bank also maintained positions in Fidelity’s FBTC, Bitwise’s BITB, and several Grayscale Bitcoin products. However, none came close to the scale of the IBIT allocation, reinforcing Bitcoin’s growing dominance within the institution’s crypto strategy. Wall Street’s New Favorite Trade Bank of America’s repositioning did not happen in isolation. Across Wall Street, major financial firms are quietly increasing Bitcoin exposure even as broader crypto markets remain volatile. The filing also revealed that Bank of America owns nearly 3.96 million shares of MicroStrategy, a position valued at roughly $660 million. Because the software company continues accumulating Bitcoin as its primary treasury reserve asset, the investment gives the bank another layer of indirect Bitcoin exposure beyond ETFs alone. Related Reading: The Last Time Bitcoin Printed This Ugly Candle, It Tanked; Now It Has Returned Other financial giants are moving in a similar direction. Morgan Stanley reportedly holds one of the largest spot crypto ETF portfolios among traditional banks, with more than $1 billion tied to regulated digital asset products. Goldman Sachs has also maintained sizable positions in BlackRock’s IBIT alongside Fidelity’s FBTC fund, while JPMorgan expanded its crypto-related exposure during the quarter despite CEO Jamie Dimon’s well-known skepticism toward Bitcoin. Together, these portfolio moves point to a broader shift taking shape across traditional finance, where regulated Bitcoin investment vehicles are drawing deeper interest from banks, asset managers, and hedge funds. Bank of America’s latest filing ultimately fits squarely within that pattern, underscoring how Bitcoin is increasingly becoming the centerpiece of Wall Street’s crypto playbook. Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com
Bitcoin’s demand backdrop has weakened sharply, according to CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost, who said an on-chain gauge of apparent demand has fallen to its most bearish reading of the year. Darkfost, posting on X under the handle @Darkfost_Coc, shared a CryptoQuant chart showing Bitcoin Apparent Demand on a 30-day sum basis falling deep into negative territory. The analyst said the metric is now approaching minus 147,000 BTC, marking its weakest level since the beginning of 2026. “Bitcoin’s Apparent Demand has just reached its most negative level since the beginning of the year,” Darkfost wrote. “With an estimate now approaching -147,000 BTC, we have to go back to December 2025 to find market sentiment this bearish.” Apparent Demand Turns Deeply Negative The chart tracks Bitcoin’s apparent demand alongside price, showing a transition from strongly positive readings through parts of mid-2025 to prolonged negative demand in late 2025 and again in 2026. The latest drop is notable because it comes after Bitcoin’s price recovered from its early-2026 lows, suggesting that the rebound has not been matched by a clear improvement in structural spot demand. Related Reading: Bitcoin LTH Supply Surge Does Not Reflect Real Demand — Here’s Why Darkfost described Apparent Demand as “the difference between new BTC issuance and the amount of supply that has remained inactive for more than one year.” In practical terms, the metric is intended to assess whether accumulation from longer-term holders is strong enough to absorb newly issued Bitcoin. “In other words, this metric helps estimate whether structural accumulation is strong enough to absorb the new supply created by the network,” the analyst wrote. That interpretation frames the current reading as more than a short-term sentiment gauge. If apparent demand is deeply negative, it suggests that the market is not showing enough underlying absorption to offset issuance and support a more stable bullish phase. Futures Momentum Faces A Spot Demand Problem Darkfost’s core argument is that Bitcoin’s rally structure may be vulnerable if derivatives activity is doing too much of the work. Futures markets can push price higher, accelerate liquidations and amplify directional moves, but they do not necessarily represent durable accumulation. “This development suggests that demand continues to gradually contract,” Darkfost said. “Without a meaningful recovery in spot demand, it becomes difficult to imagine Bitcoin sustaining a durable rally purely through the momentum driven by futures markets.” Related Reading: Glassnode Says Bitcoin Options Traders Are Still Positioned For Trouble The point is especially relevant in a market where price can move quickly on leverage, positioning and liquidity shifts. A futures-led move may still produce sharp upside, but Darkfost argued that sustained bullish phases generally require a firmer spot foundation. “Futures can support short term momentum and amplify price movements,” the analyst wrote, “but sustainable bullish phases generally require genuine spot demand, as derivatives alone do not allow the market to build a stable and solid foundation.” Bearish Signal, Long-Term Setup? The analyst did not frame the latest reading as purely negative. While the short-term implication is bearish, Darkfost noted that heavily pessimistic demand environments have historically been worth monitoring for long-term investors. “That said, even if this situation appears relatively bearish in the short term, these types of environments have historically also created interesting opportunities for long term investors capable of remaining patient,” the analyst wrote. At press time, BTC traded at $77,300. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
Bitcoin price started a recovery wave above the $76,500 zone. BTC is consolidating and might aim for more gains if it clears the $77,450 resistance zone. Bitcoin managed to form a base above $76,000 and started a recovery wave. The price is trading above $76,500 and the 100 hourly simple moving average. There is a bearish trend line forming with resistance at $77,050 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken). The pair might gain bullish momentum if it settles above the $77,450 zone. Bitcoin Price Eyes Fresh Gains Bitcoin price remained supported above the $75,000 zone. BTC formed a base and settled above $76,200 to start a recovery wave. There was a move above the $76,500 and $76,600 levels. The bulls were able to push the price above the 50% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $78,100 swing high to the $74,209 low. However, the bears are active near $77,000. There is also a bearish trend line forming with resistance at $77,050 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair. Bitcoin is now trading above $76,500 and the 100 hourly simple moving average. If the price remains stable above $77,050, it could attempt a fresh increase. Immediate resistance is near the $77,450 level or the 83.2% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $78,100 swing high to the $74,209 low. The first key resistance is near the $78,000 level. A close above the $78,000 resistance might send the price further higher. In the stated case, the price could rise and test the $79,000 resistance. Any more gains might send the price toward the $81,500 level. The next barrier for the bulls could be $82,000. Another Decline In BTC? If Bitcoin fails to rise above the $77,450 resistance zone, it could start another decline. Immediate support is near the $76,150 level. The first major support is near the $75,650 level. The next support is now near the $76,000 zone. Any more losses might send the price toward the $75,000 support in the near term. The main support now sits at $74,200, below which BTC might struggle to recover in the near term. Technical indicators: Hourly MACD – The MACD is now gaining pace in the bullish zone. Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for BTC/USD is now above the 50 level. Major Support Levels – $76,150, followed by $75,650. Major Resistance Levels – $77,450 and $79,000.
The Federal Reserve's April meeting minutes, released Wednesday, failed to bring the good news Bitcoin traders had been hoping for most of the year. The majority of policymakers said some degree of policy tightening would likely become appropriate if inflation stayed persistently above the central bank's 2% target, the opposite of the rate cuts markets […]
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Bitcoin is showing increasing signs of weakness as bearish pressure continues building below a critical technical level. With key support zones now under threat and reversal patterns beginning to take shape, BTC could be entering a decisive pullback phase that may determine the market’s next major direction. Buyers Continue Losing Momentum As Decline Deepens Crypto analyst Kamile Uray stated that Bitcoin buyers continue to appear weak as the market faces another wave of downside pressure. The analyst explained that if BTC breaks below the key bottom at $74,929, it could confirm the completion of the final shoulder in a developing OBO structure while remaining under the previous low near $76,044. Related Reading: Bitcoin Upper Trendline Resistance Is Holding Price Back, Can It Push It Below $60,000? Analyst Answers Unless Bitcoin can achieve a decisive 4-hour candle close above $78,213, the bearish trend is likely to continue. A sustained breakdown below $74,929 could open the door for a deeper decline toward the $71,000–$68,000 region, which has been identified as a major Fibonacci support zone. Kamile Uray further explained that if stronger buying momentum eventually emerges from those lower levels, Bitcoin could attempt another recovery rally. During any upside move, the market would need to overcome resistance around $98,000, followed by the larger resistance region between $107,000 and $109,000. However, if Bitcoin struggles to maintain strength above the recent peak near $126,199, the risk of another major corrective phase would remain active. In the case of a much deeper decline, Kamile Uray emphasized that the $60,000 level stands out as a critical long-term support area that could play a major role in future market direction. Bitcoin Bullish Reversal Structure Begins Turning Bearish Another crypto analyst Merry__PT has noted that Bitcoin’s recent price action is undergoing a significant structural shift. While the market initially formed a recognizable W bottom, a classic signal of a bullish reversal, this structure is now evolving into a Head and Shoulders top, which is historically viewed as a symbol of a bearish reversal. Related Reading: Bitcoin Uptrend Remains Alive Despite Bearish Pressure Below $78,800 The most critical technical element to monitor moving forward is the blue horizontal base neckline. This support zone is acting as the foundation for both the current structure and the potential for a larger trend shift. Once this neckline is clearly defined and widely acknowledged by market participants, the Head and Shoulders formation will gain significant validity. If the price confirms a breach below this level, the pattern is likely to transition from a mere technical observation into a genuine catalyst for a sustained pullback. Beyond this structural pivot, the upcoming monthly candle close is key, acting as a pivotal axis for gauging future sentiment and market direction. Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com
Bitcoin’s transaction volume is falling alongside its price. At first glance, that sounds bearish because weak activity is usually a result of weak demand, lower participation, and a lack of momentum. However, technical analysis shows the historical pattern conveys a more complicated story. Technical analysis from CryptoCon shows Bitcoin’s transaction volume strength falling close to the green low-volume band that indicated previous cycle bottoms. The falling transaction volume is also a good thing for traders looking for the cycle bottom. Bitcoin Transaction Volume Falling Into Bottoming Zone Technical analysis of Bitcoin’s volume shows that the transaction volume strength indicator, which tracks the relative weight of Bitcoin’s on-chain transaction activity against its price history, is compressing toward the low-volume zone that has reliably marked the end of bear markets. Related Reading: Bitcoin Price Breaks 14-Year Support For The First Time In History, Analyst Predicts $50,000 Target As shown in the green band at the bottom of the chart below, which is labeled as the low transaction volume area, prior crosses into this region were followed closely by important bottoms in 2015, 2018, and 2022. That is why the current decline in transaction volume cannot be read only as a negative signal. Heavy transaction activity often appears closer to cycle tops, when the market is crowded. Examples of these are shown in the chart below in 2017, 2021, and 2025. Low transaction volume, on the other hand, tends to appear when interest has faded, which is a good sign. However, according to crypto analyst CryptoCon, Bitcoin is not quite in cycle bottom territory, and the difference does matter. In 2014, it spent 10 months at these same levels in the channel. The issue is that “close” is not the same as “confirmed.” Bitcoin may be entering the part of the cycle where sellers are getting tired, but the data does not yet show the kind of final reset in previous long-term bottoms. What This Could Do To The Bitcoin Price The immediate implication is that the Bitcoin price may stay vulnerable in the short term. There are also other data points converging in that direction, but they have not yet aligned. For instance, the MVRV Z-Score, a metric that has always marked cycle tops and bottoms, shows that the bottom is not in yet. Related Reading: The Bitcoin Playbook To Know: Step 4 Says A Crash Is Coming, But Where’s The Bottom? When the price is falling, and transaction volume is also shrinking, it often shows that buyers are not yet stepping in with enough force to reverse the trend. This lines up with recent market developments, with Bitcoin down by 3.7% in the past 24 hours and trading at $74,520 at the time of writing. First, the Bitcoin price may continue to lower or remain under pressure. Then, once transaction volume reaches the deeper low-volume band and stays there long enough to confirm exhaustion, the setup could begin to look more like a cycle bottom within one month. Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com
The Winklevoss twins donated $21 million worth of Bitcoin to a political action committee supporting US President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign, underscoring just how deeply committed the Gemini co-founders are to the cryptocurrency’s future. Related Reading: Bitcoin Treasury Company Nakamoto Takes Action To Prevent Stock Slide A Debt Clock That Never Stops That political move now sits alongside a fresh statement from Cameron Winklevoss, who took to X on May 22 to declare there are “39 trillion reasons to buy Bitcoin.” He was pointing directly at the US national debt, which has climbed to over $39 trillion. The remark was brief. The implication was not. 39 trillion reasons to buy bitcoin https://t.co/0E2OvKkNKu — Cameron Winklevoss (@cameron) May 22, 2026 A Fixed Supply Against A Growing Debt Cameron and his brother Tyler have long argued that Bitcoin’s hard cap of 21 million coins makes it a natural hedge against governments that keep spending beyond their means. They call it “gold 2.0,” and they believe that if Bitcoin ever displaces gold as the world’s go-to store of value, the price could eventually hit $1 million. Cameron has a history of flagging what he sees as prime buying moments. When Bitcoin fell below $90,000 late last year, he told his more than 700,000 followers on X that it was a final chance to buy before a rebound. The rebound did not come as expected — Bitcoin slid further and now trades around $74,000. The Debt Argument Gains Ground Across The Industry Cameron is not the only prominent voice tying the national debt to the case for Bitcoin. Jim Cramer urged Americans last year to consider cryptocurrencies as the debt climbed to $37.63 trillion, a point when the National Debt Clock in New York showed each American family carrying a burden of nearly $955,708. Michael Saylor and Anthony Pompliano have made similar arguments, repeatedly framing Bitcoin as a shield against economic uncertainty and ballooning government obligations. The idea is straightforward: as government debt grows and the purchasing power of fiat currencies shrinks, an asset with a fixed supply becomes harder to ignore. Related Reading: New Bitcoin Lows? Analysts Say Chances Are ‘Extremely Slim’ Loud Voices, Clear Interests Gemini is a cryptocurrency exchange, and the Winklevoss brothers have built their business around Bitcoin adoption. Their advocacy and their financial interests run in the same direction. Cameron’s latest post adds one more data point to a narrative the crypto industry has been building for years — that the national debt is not just an economic problem but an argument for holding Bitcoin. Featured image from Pexels, chart from TradingView
Six straight days of outflows from US spot Bitcoin ETFs — totaling $1.26 billion — are drawing attention not for the losses they represent, but for what history suggests might come next. What The Data Shows Blockchain analytics firm Santiment says these outflows should be read as a counter-signal rather than a warning. According to the firm, ETF flows reflect retail investor behavior more than institutional positioning, which means sustained outflows tend to mark bottoms rather than the start of deeper slides. Related Reading: New Bitcoin Lows? Analysts Say Chances Are ‘Extremely Slim’ Santiment pointed to a consistent pattern: large inflow spikes have historically landed near price tops, while heavy outflow periods have lined up with buying opportunities. The numbers support the argument. On July 10, 2025, spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $1.18 billion in inflows — a period that coincided with a local price top. October 6, 2025 brought $1.21 billion in inflows, and prices peaked around the same time. On the other side, $903 million in outflows hit on November 20, 2025, a moment that proved well-timed for buyers. Based on this track record, Santiment says the current outflow streak fits the same mold — retail investors cutting exposure after Bitcoin failed to hold $80,000 in May, hitting a high of $79,050 on May 16 before pulling back. Retail Fear, Not Institutional Exit Bitcoin was trading at $75,400 when Santiment published its report on Friday, May 22. The firm described the current climate as the highest level of market fear seen in more than 3.5 months. Rather than treating that as cause for alarm, Santiment framed it as a familiar setup — retail capitulation that has historically reset conditions ahead of recoveries. Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded outflows across each of the six trading sessions from May 15 through May 22, according to Farside Investors data. The 11 funds tracked collectively posted $1.26 billion in net outflows during just five of those sessions. On May 22 alone, total net outflows came to $105 million, according to SoSoValue data, extending the outflow streak to six consecutive days. Related Reading: Bitcoin Treasury Company Nakamoto Takes Action To Prevent Stock Slide ETF Analyst Sees Recovery Ahead ETF analyst James Seyffart offered a separate reason for optimism. Speaking on a podcast, Seyffart noted that total Bitcoin ETF inflows are approaching their all-time high of $60 billion and that most of the $9 billion in outflows recorded between October and February has since been recouped. He expects the all-time inflow record to break in the near term. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
Crypto analyst Chain Mind has indicated that the Bitcoin price has yet to bottom. He alluded to historical performance, which shows that BTC has never bottomed without touching the EMA 300. Bitcoin Price Unlikely To Bottom Before Touching This Level In an X post, Chain Mind indicated that the Bitcoin price is unlikely to bottom out without first touching the EMA300. He noted that BTC has never bottomed without touching this level, as it did in 2020 and 2022, when it tagged the weekly EMA300 right before the cycle low. Specifically, Bitcoin’s bottom came 10% below the EMA in 2020 and 15% in 2022. Related Reading: Bitcoin Is Repeating This Midterm Pattern That Sends Price Tumbling 15% On Average The analyst noted that in this cycle, the Bitcoin price bounced from $60,000 without ever reaching the EMA, suggesting the real bottom isn’t in. He added that if the pattern repeats, BTC must drop to around $58,000, marking the last bottom in this bear cycle. In another X post, the analyst indicated that BTC was mirroring the price action during the 2022 bear market. This came as he revealed that the Bitcoin price had just rejected the 200MA, a move that also occurred in 2022. He explained that this confirms the bearish macro structure after BTC tagged the 200D MA again at $82,000. As such, if the 2022 pattern repeats, the leading crypto must drop 40% to 60% from the rejection point. He added that this means that the real cycle bottom must be around the $50,000 to $55,000 range. Bitcoin is once again in a downtrend after failing to hold above the psychological $80,000 level. This comes amid bearish catalysts such as the US-Iran war, rising inflation, and bets of a Fed rate hike this year. BTC’s latest decline came after the SEC delayed its approval of tokenized stocks. The Plan Remains The Same For BTC Crypto analyst Kaleo declared that the plan remains the same for the Bitcoin price despite traders on Kalshi betting against a rally to $100,000 this year. He urged market participants to zoom out and be more bullish. As for what could happen, he predicts a retest in the lower $70,000 range, then a rebound to between $80,000 and $90,000, and a range there for the summer. Related Reading: If You’re Looking To Bitcoin Above $90,000, This Analyst Says To Watch This Bearish OB Level Once that happens, the analyst predicts that the Bitcoin price will then rally above $100,000 and reach a new all-time high (ATH) in the fall and winter. Notably, the CLARITY Act could pass between now and then, which could spark a massive rally for the leading crypto. At the time of writing, the Bitcoin price is trading at around $75,400, down over 2% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com
After a steep downturn in early February, the Bitcoin price saw a significant turnaround over the following two months. While the month of May initially continued on this positive note, the premier cryptocurrency seems to have cooled off over the past week — aligning with BTC’s track record of not registering three consecutive months of positive price action during a bear-market year. Interestingly, recent on-chain observations suggest that trouble might be brewing for the Bitcoin price, at least in the near term. Could The Bears Take Over The Bitcoin Market Again? In a new post on the X platform, crypto analytics firm Bitcoin Vector explained that the current waning bullish momentum might be a more damning signal for Bitcoin than it is perceived to be. According to the market intelligence firm, BTC’s price momentum doesn’t have to turn deeply negative before investors pay attention. Related Reading: Bitcoin Price Breaks 14-Year Support For The First Time In History, Analyst Predicts $50,000 Target Bitcoin Vector highlighted that the Glassnode momentum indicator, which measures the speed and strength of price movements (in a specific direction) within a period, has witnessed a sharp downturn in recent days. The analytics platform noted that while the focus would be on the momentum turning negative, the +0.5 mark is the level to watch. According to Bitcoin Vector’s analysis, price momentum crossing below +0.5 is the first signal that the upward trend might be fading and sellers might be overtaking the market. The analytics firm revealed that the last two times the flagship cryptocurrency lost this critical level, the BTC price structure shifted. Those last two times include: October 2025, when the Bitcoin price suddenly crashed to just above $100,000, and February 2026, when the market leader fell to around $62,000. Bitcoin Vector noted that these moves were characterized by a weakened spot CVD (cumulative volume delta), a return of seller control, and a deteriorating price structure. Recent on-chain data show that price momentum remains above +0.5 — albeit at around +0.7. “But if it loses that level while Spot CVD keeps weakening, caution rises fast. That would be the first signal that deterioration is starting beneath the surface,” Bitcoin concluded. Ultimately, the world’s largest cryptocurrency seems to be at a critical juncture, with the waning price momentum potentially signaling what is to come over the next few weeks. Bitcoin Price At A Glance As of this writing, BTC is valued at around $75,950, reflecting an over 2% price decline in the past 24 hours. Related Reading: Bitcoin Upper Trendline Resistance Is Holding Price Back, Can It Push It Below $60,000? Analyst Answers Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView
Bitcoin’s drop back below $78,000 after a rejection near recent local range highs has left options traders positioned cautiously, according to new data shared by Glassnode. The firm said the options market continues to show compressed volatility expectations, elevated downside hedging demand, and a gamma structure that could amplify weakness if BTC moves toward the mid-$75,000 area. The move follows a failed attempt to hold near the upper end of the recent local range. While spot price action has softened, Glassnode’s thread focused on what derivatives positioning suggests beneath the surface: traders are still paying up for protection rather than aggressively chasing upside. “BTC broke back below $78K after being rejected near the recent local range highs,” Glassnode wrote. “Here’s what BTC options data shows on positioning, volatility expectations, and sentiment beneath the surface.” Bitcoin Options Traders Stay Defensive One of the clearest signals came from implied volatility. Glassnode said BTC implied volatility resumed its decline after a short-lived rebound earlier in the week. One-week implied volatility now sits near 31%, down from 39% earlier this week, while longer-dated implied volatility also moved slightly lower. The implication is that the market is not yet pricing a disorderly breakout in either direction, even as downside hedging remains elevated. “The market is pricing a quieter near term environment again,” Glassnode said. Related Reading: Bitcoin $78,000 Rebound Fizzles As Coinbase Premium Stays Red That calm, however, is not the same as bullish positioning. Glassnode said 25-delta skew remains “firmly in put territory” after the rejection near $82,000. One-week skew briefly touched 24% before easing, a sign that puts continued to trade at a strong premium to calls. “Traders continue to favor downside protection,” the firm wrote. The same caution appeared in Glassnode’s skew index ratio, which compares upside and downside implied volatility. Most tenors remain below 1, meaning puts are richer than calls. The exception is the six-month tenor, where the ratio still shows a call premium, suggesting that longer-dated upside demand has not disappeared entirely. Nearer-term positioning is more defensive. Glassnode said upside demand remains limited outside longer-dated structures, while the broader options surface continues to show investors seeking protection against further downside. Realized and implied volatility are also diverging. One-month realized volatility has fallen toward 27%, while one-month implied volatility remains closer to 35%. That leaves the volatility risk premium near recent highs, according to Glassnode. “Options still price more movement than BTC has recently delivered,” the firm said. The gamma profile adds another layer of risk. Glassnode identified a large short gamma cluster near $75,000, with roughly $3.2 billion of negative exposure below spot. In options markets, short gamma positioning can force dealers to hedge in ways that reinforce spot moves, potentially increasing volatility if price approaches key levels. Related Reading: Wintermute Says Bitcoin Rally Was A Squeeze, Low $70,000s Loom At the same time, positive gamma clusters near $78,000 and $80,000 may act as resistance. That setup leaves Bitcoin boxed between nearby upside friction and a lower zone where downside movement could accelerate. “This structure can accelerate downside volatility near 75K,” Glassnode wrote. Flows over the past week also leaned defensive. Put buying slightly led the tape, representing 25% of premium, while calls bought also accounted for 25%. Call selling remained elevated at 25.7% of flow, reinforcing the picture of muted upside appetite. Glassnode’s conclusion was direct: front-end implied volatility keeps compressing, the volatility spread is widening, skew remains in put territory, only the six-month skew index ratio shows a call premium, flows lean defensive, and a short gamma acceleration zone sits below spot. For traders, the takeaway is less about outright panic than asymmetry. Bitcoin options are not pricing a major volatility expansion in the immediate term, but the market is still paying for downside protection and showing limited confidence in near-term upside. Unless spot can reclaim the nearby resistance zones around $78,000 and $80,000, the options market appears positioned for continued caution. At press time, BTC traded at $76,744. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
Bitcoin derivatives traders are moving back into the market after an eight-month deleveraging phase, according to CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost, with Binance futures open interest now back above its 180-day moving average. The shift suggests risk appetite is returning after one of the longest reductions in leveraged exposure since the 2022 bear market. Bitcoin Traders Are Returning Darkfost said the deleveraging period began after the October 10 event, as Bitcoin’s correction coincided with a worsening global macroeconomic and geopolitical backdrop. In that environment, traders reduced exposure across derivatives markets, with Binance futures activity showing a sustained contraction. “Since the October 10 event, Bitcoin has gone through a prolonged deleveraging phase across derivatives markets, represented here through Binance futures activity,” Darkfost wrote. “Following the October 10 event, combined with the deterioration in the global macroeconomic and geopolitical backdrop, traders largely opted to reduce risk. This deleveraging phase on Binance lasted roughly 8 months.” The analyst’s framework identifies deleveraging periods when open interest falls below its 180-day moving average. In market terms, that suggests futures activity is declining as corrections force liquidations, position closures and a broader reduction in investor exposure. For Bitcoin, the latest stretch was notable not only for its duration, but for how closely it resembled the setup seen in 2022 before the FTX collapse triggered another wave of liquidations. Related Reading: Bitcoin $78,000 Rebound Fizzles As Coinbase Premium Stays Red The turning point appears to have emerged in early May. Binance open interest has risen from $6.4 billion in March to roughly $8.96 billion, Darkfost said, moving back above its 180-day average of about $8.75 billion. That crossover matters because it signals that derivatives activity is no longer in contraction relative to its medium-term trend. “Since early May, however, the trend appears to be shifting,” the analyst wrote. “Binance Open Interest has risen from $6.4B in March to around $8.96B today, moving back above its 180 day average currently sitting near $8.75B. This effectively signals the end of the deleveraging period.” Related Reading: Wintermute Says Bitcoin Rally Was A Squeeze, Low $70,000s Loom The return of futures positioning has likely reinforced Bitcoin’s rebound from its corrective phase, according to the analyst. As open interest rises, more traders are deploying capital into directional and leveraged strategies, adding liquidity and potentially amplifying price moves. In this case, Darkfost argued that the renewed participation has “clearly contributed to the ongoing upward correction.” Still, the analyst stopped short of describing the move as a durable recovery. The distinction is important. A rise in open interest can mark renewed confidence, but it can also reflect short-term speculative positioning after a sharp drawdown. Darkfost framed the current move as a rebound trade rather than confirmation that Bitcoin has fully exited the pressure that began in October. “Despite a macro environment that has continued to deteriorate, Bitcoin’s sharp correction attracted more speculative traders looking to play a rebound,” he wrote. “That said, this trend remains highly fragile, and these traders could exit just as quickly as they entered if BTC resumes the correction that started back in October.” That fragility is the main risk in the setup. The same derivatives flows now supporting the rebound could reverse if spot momentum weakens or macro conditions deteriorate further. In that scenario, recently added leverage would become a source of downside pressure rather than support, especially if traders who entered for a rebound move are forced to unwind quickly. At press time, BTC traded at $77,479. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
Bitcoin is struggling below $80,000 as the market faces uncertainty that extends well beyond the usual price action concerns. The breakdown from key levels has been accompanied by a broader reassessment of the macro environment — and XWIN Research Japan has identified a structural shift at the highest level of global monetary policy that may define the conditions Bitcoin operates in for the foreseeable future. Related Reading: Chainlink Sees Historic On-Chain Surge While Exchange Supply Keeps Shrinking – Details The Federal Reserve is entering a new era. Kevin Warsh has officially taken over as Fed Chair, and the market’s attention has shifted from the immediate question of rate cuts to a more fundamental one: whether the Fed’s operating philosophy itself has changed. That distinction matters more for risk assets than any single rate decision. Warsh is not a conventional Fed Chair. He has been a long-standing critic of excessive quantitative easing and the concept of a central bank that continuously intervenes to support financial markets during periods of stress. The regime he inherits — and the one he is expected to reshape — is being read by markets as a transition from what XWIN Research Japan describes as a market-rescuing Fed toward a discipline-focused one. For previous generations of Bitcoin investors, Fed philosophy was a secondary consideration. That era has ended. ETFs, institutional allocations, hedge fund positioning, and the maturation of Bitcoin’s derivatives infrastructure have transformed BTC into a global liquidity-sensitive asset — one that now responds to shifts in financial conditions with a directness that previous cycles never required participants to account for. Three Signals That Will Tell You How Bitcoin Responds to the New Fed The XWIN Research Japan report identifies the specific on-chain indicators most likely to register the impact of the Warsh Fed before price action confirms anything. The first is the Coinbase Premium — the gap between Bitcoin’s price on Coinbase and offshore exchanges like Binance. During periods of strong US institutional spot demand, the premium stays positive. If concerns about prolonged high rates or continued quantitative tightening suppress institutional buying appetite, the Coinbase Premium turns negative first, before exchange prices reflect the reduced demand. It is the earliest available signal of whether American institutional capital is retreating or holding. Bitcoin Coinbase Premium Index | Source: CryptoQuant The second is Bitcoin Exchange Netflow. Rising inflows to exchanges typically precede selling pressure or defensive repositioning. A risk-off environment triggered by a discipline-focused Fed would likely manifest in higher exchange inflows and increased short-term holder selling — the behavioral signature of participants reducing exposure before the price fully reflects their caution. The third is the leverage structure the report has already identified as the dominant feature of Bitcoin’s current market. Rallies built on short-covering rather than genuine spot accumulation are structurally fragile — and a Fed environment that does not rescue markets removes the implicit backstop that has historically encouraged re-leveraging after corrections. The irony the report preserves is worth sitting with. A stricter central bank that refuses to rescue markets could pressure Bitcoin in the short term through tighter financial conditions and reduced institutional appetite. Over the medium term, that same strictness could strengthen Bitcoin’s fundamental appeal — a politically neutral store of value operating entirely outside the fiat system that Warsh’s discipline-focused Fed is attempting to defend. The on-chain signals will reveal which dynamic arrives first. Related Reading: XRP Whale Dominance Returns To Binance While Coinbase Data Tells A Different Story Bitcoin Holds Above Key Support As Bulls Defend Recovery Structure Bitcoin continues consolidating near the $77,000 region after failing to sustain momentum above the recent $82,000 local high. The daily chart shows a market entering a critical decision phase, with price compressing between overhead resistance and a major support zone that has defined the structure of the recovery since April. Bitcoin compressed between key SMA's | Source: BTCUSDT chart on TradingView The most important technical area remains the $73,000–$74,000 range highlighted on the chart. This zone previously acted as resistance during March before flipping into support during the April breakout. Bitcoin is now retesting that region from above while the 50-day moving average rises directly underneath it, creating a confluence area bulls must defend to preserve the medium-term recovery structure. Related Reading: HYPE Accumulation Intensifies As Whale-Linked Position Surpasses $100M At the same time, the 200-day moving average near $82,000 continues acting as macro resistance. Recent rejection from that level confirms that sellers remain active whenever BTC approaches the upper boundary of the current range. The sequence of lower highs since mid-May also suggests momentum has weakened considerably following the rally from the February lows. Volume conditions have normalized after the extreme volatility seen during the February capitulation event, indicating the market is transitioning from panic-driven movement into a slower consolidation phase. Technically, Bitcoin remains constructive while trading above $74,000. Holding support could allow another attempt toward the $80,000–$82,000 region, while losing it would likely expose the broader $65,000 demand zone below. Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com
A recent TradingView technical outlook suggests Bitcoin remains locked beneath a stubborn upper trendline resistance that continues to suppress bullish momentum. Despite several recovery attempts, BTC has repeatedly failed to break through the resistance zone, causing speculations that the price could push below $60,000. Bitcoin Trapped Beneath A Heavy Ceiling The TradingView chart highlights how this upper trendline has consistently acted as a ceiling for price action, rejecting Bitcoin each time buyers attempt to push higher. That resistance area also overlaps with key Fibonacci retracement levels, making it an increasingly important barrier within the current market structure. Related Reading: Pundit Predicts What Will Happen To XRP When Exchanges Run Out Of Supply Current price action appears to support that outlook. Bitcoin has struggled to sustain upside momentum and recently slipped lower after another rejection near the top of the rising formation. Attention is now shifting toward the $73,000 to $75,000 support region, which analysts view as critical for maintaining the broader bullish structure. The setup also shows a narrowing wedge-like recovery structure developing after Bitcoin’s earlier selloff. However, rather than breaking upward decisively, BTC has started rolling over near resistance once again, signaling that the market still lacks the momentum needed to overpower the upper trendline. This weakness is already becoming visible across broader market performance metrics. Bitcoin remains under pressure on higher timeframes and has recorded losses across the weekly and 14-day charts. For bullish momentum to regain strength, analysts say Bitcoin must finally break above the upper trendline resistance with strong conviction. Until that happens, the current price action continues to reinforce the idea that the trendline ceiling remains firmly in control of the market. Can Bitcoin Crash Below $60,000? While the dominant outlook favours Bitcoin breaking the upper trendline to regain bullish momentum, analysts are not dismissing the possibility of a much deeper flush if key supports collapse. The immediate downside focus sits between $69,000 and $66,000, where another major support region intersects with the rising trendline structure from previous swing lows. A move into that range would likely represent an aggressive but technically acceptable retracement within the broader cycle. Related Reading: XRP Analyst Reveals The Real Catalysts; ‘The Price Discovery Will Be Biblical’ The more concerning scenario emerges if Bitcoin loses the $66,000 threshold entirely. According to the chart, that breakdown would invalidate the current ascending support framework and potentially trigger a broader risk-off reaction across crypto markets. In that situation, volatility could increase rapidly. Liquidity gaps below current price levels may expose Bitcoin to a sharp capitulation move capable of driving price beneath $60,000 before stronger demand returns. There is also a hint at the possibility of a panic-driven wick stretching toward the low-$50,000 region if market conditions deteriorate aggressively. For now, however, the market remains at an inflection point rather than in confirmed collapse. The behavior of buyers around the $73,000 to $75,000 area will likely determine whether Bitcoin resumes its climb toward six-figure territory or slides into a much deeper corrective phase. Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com
The founder of on-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant has highlighted how the signals related to a Bitcoin bull run haven’t switched on yet. Bitcoin Bull Score Index Is Still Inside The Neutral Territory In a new post on X, CryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju has shared the latest trend in the Bull Score Index for Bitcoin. This on-chain metric combines the data of several different indicators to give a single score for the network. Related Reading: XRP Declines 8%, But Whales Scoop Up 71 Million Tokens More specifically, the index makes use of ten metrics. Some of the popular ones part of it include the MVRV Z-Score, Trader Realized Price, and Stablecoin Liquidity. The Bull Score Index calculates its value in a simple manner: it counts up the number of metrics flashing a bullish signal for the cryptocurrency and multiplies the total by 10. When the indicator has a value greater than 60, it means more than six metrics are pointing to positive market conditions. Such a trend implies BTC may be in a bullish market phase. On the other hand, the index being lower than 40 suggests the majority of the indicators are bearish toward the asset. Now, here is the chart shared by Young Ju that shows how the trend in the Bitcoin Bull Score Index has fluctuated over the last few years: As displayed in the above graph, the Bitcoin Bull Score Index spent its days inside the red territory during Q4 2025 and Q1 2026. This means that the market was in a bearish phase from the perspective of this index. Recently, however, the recovery surge has meant that the indicator has experienced some days inside the neutral zone, corresponding to values between 40 and 60. The shift in the metric’s trend, though, may not correspond to the return of a bullish wave yet. “Once the real Bitcoin bull run begins, all signals will be very clear,” noted the analyst. “We are not there yet.” It now remains to be seen how long it will be before the Bull Score Index turns green for the cryptocurrency. In some other news, the Bitcoin supply held by the long-term holders (LTHs) has broken out of a downtrend recently, as analyst James Van Straten has highlighted in an X post. The LTHs refer to the BTC investors holding for more than 155 days ago. This cohort is considered to correspond to the diamond hands of the market. Related Reading: Bitcoin $78,000 Rebound Fizzles As Coinbase Premium Stays Red As the chart below shows, the total holdings of these investors have shot up recently. The latest surge in the Bitcoin LTH supply could mark the end of a 2.5-year long consolidation phase for the metric. “This cohort controls the market and this is why the four year cycle is over,” said the analyst. BTC Price At the time of writing, Bitcoin is floating around $77,300, down more than 4% in the past week. Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView.com
Crypto analyst Phila has predicted that the Bitcoin price could see a massive decline to $55,000 after breaking a 14-year support level. This comes amid BTC’s fall below the psychological $80,000 level, with the leading crypto now at risk of dropping to new lows. Analyst Predicts Bitcoin Price Drop To $55,000 Amid Breakdown In an X post, Phila stated that the Bitcoin price just broke a support level that has held for 14 years, noting that it had held in previous bear cycles. The analyst further remarked that this is not a dip, a correction, or a shakeout, but rather capitulation happening in real time. His accompanying chart showed that the leading crypto could drop to around $55,000 following the breakdown below the key support level. Related Reading: Bitcoin Is Playing Out The ‘Fakeout Theory’ Again, Here’s What To Expect Meanwhile, the analyst highlighted his track record, noting that he called the $16,000 bottom in 2022 and the top for the Bitcoin price in October 2025. As such, he suggested that market participants should prepare accordingly, as his prediction of a decline to $55,000 is likely to happen. In another X post, Phila stated that the Bitcoin price action was mirroring the 2021 price action, with the double top, lower highs, and lower lows. He noted that there was also a relief rally in 2021 that felt like the bottom, but it wasn’t the bottom, and everyone who bought BTC before the rally saw losses on the next leg down. Similarly, the Bitcoin price is once again in a relief rally phase, with many market participants believing that the February 2026 low of $60,000 was the bottom. He added that many think that the worst is over, but that $50,000 is on the table and that his fractal hasn’t missed a single step yet. The Key Level To Watch For Now Crypto analyst Ali Martinez said that $77,800 is the key level to watch for the Bitcoin price at the moment. This came as he alluded to a well-defined channel that has developed on the lower timeframes and that BTC has climbed to test the upper boundary of this structure around $77,800. Related Reading: What’s The Latest With The US-Iran War And How Does It Affect Bitcoin? The analyst further predicted that a flip of this level into support could clear the path for the Bitcoin price to rally to around $79,000. However, if BTC fails to break above this level, then it could see a healthy retracement back into the channel to gather liquidity. Martinez added that the key levels to watch for a bounce are the mid-range at $76,900 and the channel bottom at $76,000. At the time of writing, the Bitcoin price is trading at around $77,500, down in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Featured image from Pixabay, chart from Tradingview.com
Hyperliquid’s HYPE token has surged 55% in a single week and delivered more than 130% in year-to-date returns — but prominent crypto analyst Ali Martinez (@alicharts) is warning that the asset is now approaching a critical resistance zone with multiple technical indicators flashing sell signals simultaneously, a setup he says could trigger a retracement toward $40 if momentum fades at current levels. Related Reading: XRP Sees 4th-Largest Wallet Growth Spike Of 2026, Santiment Says In a post on X, Martinez laid out the technical case with precision. Three converging signals are appearing on HYPE at the same time: the TD Sequential Combo 13 sell signal is already active, a standard green 9 sell signal could confirm as early as the next session, and both the Relative Strength Index (RSI) and the Chande Momentum Oscillator are sitting at historically elevated — or overheated — levels, per the analyst’s analysis. HYPE's price trends to the upside following a surge in institutional adoption, as seen on the daily chart. Source: HYPEUSD on Tradingview Why The Setup Concerns Martinez The significance of the current configuration lies in precedent. According to Martinez’s post, the last two occasions when TD Sequential sell signals appeared on HYPE while the RSI and Chande Momentum Oscillator were simultaneously at overheated levels, both instances led to significant corrections. The analyst is not pointing to isolated indicators — he is pointing to a specific combination of signals that has already proven consequential twice in HYPE’s relatively short price history. HYPE's price entering a dangerous area if the asset can't sustain its current bullish momentum, as seen on the TD Sequential Indicator. Source: Ali Martinez on X The analyst does leave room for one final push before any reversal materializes. HYPE could still push toward $59 or even slightly above $60 before momentum fades, he notes — but frames that move as a potential exhaustion run rather than the beginning of a new leg higher. If rejection comes from the $59–$60 area, a retracement toward approximately $40 becomes increasingly likely, per his assessment. That would represent a pullback of roughly 33% from the upper resistance zone — meaningful, but consistent with the corrections that followed the previous two sell signal setups he references. ZCash Flashing A Similar Warning Martinez also flagged ZCash in the same post, noting a comparable technical structure after a 40%-plus weekly surge. ZCash is approaching the same resistance zone that triggered a major rejection in November — around the $700–$730 area — with the TD Sequential now flashing a sell signal on the weekly chart. Because the signal appears on the weekly timeframe, Martinez warns the potential correction could be substantially larger, with first downside support near $500 and a deeper retracement potentially reaching $380. The parallel between the two assets is notable given that BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes has publicly disclosed large positions in both HYPE and ZCash — with a $150 HYPE target and a $10,000 long-term ZCash target — making the current resistance zone a critical test of two of his highest-conviction calls simultaneously. Related Reading: New Bitcoin Lows? Analysts Say Chances Are ‘Extremely Slim’ As of this writing, HYPE trades at around $56, consolidating just below the critical $59–$60 resistance zone that Martinez has identified as the make-or-break level for the near-term price trajectory. Cover image from Perplexity, HYPEUSD Chart from Tradingview
Michael Saylor is calling $60,000 Bitcoin’s floor. The Strategy co-founder made the claim during a Thursday appearance on CNBC’s Squawk Box, saying the asset is now entering what he described as a “spring phase” — backed by solid support levels and a favorable broader market environment. Related Reading: Zcash Soars 88% In 30 Days: Is ZEC The Stealth Winner Of This Crypto Cycle? A Target Built On Bold Math Saylor’s confidence ties back to a specific projection he has held for some time: a 30% average annual return for Bitcoin. That number forms the backbone of his prediction that Bitcoin will hit $13 million by 2045, a figure he arrived at by modeling a 29% yearly return sustained over roughly 19 years. Among the forces he expects to drive that growth are institutional adoption, government-level treasury strategy, and Bitcoin’s fixed supply — factors he believes will pull capital away from gold and traditional financial markets. $MSTR Co-Founder @saylor explains why he thinks $BTC will outperform the S&P 500 over time:https://t.co/REOnScJVPZ — Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) May 21, 2026 The S&P 500, one of the most closely watched benchmarks in global finance, tracks 500 of the largest publicly traded companies in the US. It has delivered an average annual return of around 10%, making it a reliable standby for investors who want steady, long-term growth. Saylor is betting Bitcoin can do triple that — a claim he repeated plainly on Squawk Box: “We expect 30%.” Numbers Tell A Complicated Story The current numbers don’t immediately support his case. As of the time of his interview, Bitcoin was down 12% for the year while the S&P 500 had gained 8%, according to Google Finance. Saylor has long maintained that short-term swings don’t define Bitcoin’s trajectory, and he reiterated that position Thursday, pointing instead to what he sees as a building wave of regulatory and institutional support. Among the specific developments he cited was the CLARITY Act, which cleared the US Senate Banking Committee last week with bipartisan support after months of delays. He also pointed to upcoming innovation exemption guidelines from the US Securities and Exchange Commission aimed at allowing securities tokenization on crypto networks, calling it a potentially major development for the industry. Related Reading: Analyst Warns XRP Could ‘Shake Out’ Traders Before Major Breakout Looking Ahead To A Bigger Market Share Saylor has made similar predictions before. Earlier this year, he said Bitcoin would double or triple the S&P 500’s returns over the next four to eight years. His longer-range view sees Bitcoin eventually overtaking gold in total market value by 2035, pulling in fresh capital that was previously locked in conventional assets. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
Binance pool miner reserves slipped from 41,987 to 41,915 in May, a small but telling sign that selling pressure from miners has not fully stopped. Crypto analysts said that because Binance Pool controls a major share of global hash rate, its behavior tends to reflect how Bitcoin miners feel before the broader market catches on. Related Reading: Bitcoin Treasury Company Nakamoto Takes Action To Prevent Stock Slide The Miner Position Index remains below historical panic-selling levels, and the Puell Multiple — a gauge of miner revenue relative to long-term averages — is still under one. Analysts described the current miner behavior as a “wait phase,” a pattern that has appeared near cycle bottoms before. Long-Term Holders Take Over The Supply Side More than 70% of all circulating Bitcoin is now sitting in the hands of investors who have held for at least a year. That figure crossed back above 15 million BTC for the first time since October 2025, according to data from CryptoQuant. ???? $BTC Long Term Holders Just Flashed The Signal That Preceded Every Major Expansion Phase Since 2012.#Bitcoin The 1Y+ Long Term Holder metric has now dropped back into the historical “oversold” accumulation zone, a region that previously appeared before explosive upside… pic.twitter.com/9ZHwKFJRm9 — CryptoZeno (@CrypZeno) May 20, 2026 Analyst CryptoZeno said the one-year-plus holder metric has returned to a zone that, in past cycles, came just before major price climbs. Based on reports citing CryptoZeno’s analysis, similar readings appeared ahead of upside moves in 2013, 2016, 2019, and late 2022. When these holders are buying instead of selling, available supply tightens — and historically, that has not been a good time to bet on lower prices. A Key Technical Signal Flips Bullish The weekly Relative Strength Index for Bitcoin retested the 50 level this week, triggering a bullish read from crypto analyst Sykodelic. That retest came 105 days after Bitcoin’s weekly RSI fell into oversold territory — only the fourth time that has happened on record. Sykodelic noted that three of those four instances led to long-term price expansion. The one exception was 2022, when the FTX collapse dragged the market to new lows after an initial recovery attempt, and the RSI never managed to reclaim the 50 level during that move. This time, it did. The chance of new lows has become extremely slim. It has now been 105 days since the cycle low, in which the 1W RSI entered oversold… Only for the 4th time ever. The only time Bitcoin made new lows after 105 days after the bottom was in the last cycle. However, the RSI had… pic.twitter.com/ej7vReV8H6 — Sykodelic ???? (@Sykodelic_) May 20, 2026 Odds Of A Drop Below $60,000 Called ‘Extremely Slim’ Taken together, analysts say the data points away from a fresh breakdown. The combination of long-term holders accumulating near historical lows, a technical indicator flipping positive for the first time since February, and miner behavior consistent with past bottoms has analysts broadly aligned on one view. Related Reading: Crypto Access To Banks In Focus After Trump’s New Executive Order The odds of Bitcoin falling below $60,000 again, Sykodelic said, have become extremely slim. Whether that confidence holds will depend on whether the market can avoid the kind of external shock — like a major exchange failure — that broke the pattern in 2022. Featured image from Yellow, chart from TradingView
Bitcoin price reached $82,400 on May 20 and ran into a line on a chart. Up 37% from its April lows, BTC stalled at the 200-day moving average, pulled back to as low as $76,000, and left the market wondering what the rejection showed about the market's underlying structure. That line, a simple arithmetic average, […]
The post Why do Bitcoin traders care so much about the 200-day moving average? appeared first on CryptoSlate.
Bitcoin price started a recovery wave above the $77,000 zone. BTC is consolidating and might aim for more gains if it clears the $78,000 resistance zone. Bitcoin managed to form a base above $76,200 and started a recovery wave. The price is trading above $77,000 and the 100 hourly simple moving average. There is a contracting triangle forming with resistance at $77,900 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken). The pair might gain bullish momentum if it settles above the $78,000 zone. Bitcoin Price Eyes Fresh Gains Bitcoin price remained supported above the $76,500 zone. BTC formed a base and settled above $76,800 to start a recovery wave. There was a move above the $77,000 and $77,200 levels. The bulls were able to push the price above the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $82,016 swing high to the $76,020 low. However, the bears are active near $78,000. There is also a contracting triangle forming with resistance at $77,900 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair. Bitcoin is now trading above $77,200 and the 100 hourly simple moving average. If the price remains stable above $77,200, it could attempt a fresh increase. Immediate resistance is near the $78,000 level. The first key resistance is near the $78,500 level. A close above the $78,500 resistance might send the price further higher. In the stated case, the price could rise and test the $79,000 resistance or the 50% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $82,016 swing high to the $76,020 low. Any more gains might send the price toward the $81,200 level. The next barrier for the bulls could be $82,000. Another Drop In BTC? If Bitcoin fails to rise above the $78,000 resistance zone, it could start another decline. Immediate support is near the $77,200 level. The first major support is near the $76,800 level. The next support is now near the $76,200 zone. Any more losses might send the price toward the $75,000 support in the near term. The main support now sits at $74,200, below which BTC might struggle to recover in the near term. Technical indicators: Hourly MACD – The MACD is now gaining pace in the bullish zone. Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for BTC/USD is now above the 50 level. Major Support Levels – $76,800, followed by $76,200. Major Resistance Levels – $78,000 and $79,000.
Nakamoto sold 284 Bitcoin on the last day of March just to keep the lights on. That detail, buried in the company’s first-quarter financial results, tells the story of where one of the country’s Bitcoin treasury companies now stands. Related Reading: Crypto Access To Banks In Focus After Trump’s New Executive Order A Company Running Low On Options? The Bitcoin accumulation strategy that once drove Nakamoto’s stock above $25 a share has given way to something far less glamorous — selling Bitcoin to cover operating costs. The company reported a net loss of $238 million for the first quarter of the year, with more than $102 million of that tied to a drop in the value of its Bitcoin holdings after the cryptocurrency fell 20% during the quarter. Revenue jumped 500% quarter over quarter, but the losses swamped those gains. Nakamoto holds 5,058 Bitcoin, making it the 20th largest corporate Bitcoin holder in the world, just behind ProCap Financial. Michael Saylor’s Strategy sits at the top of that list with more than 843,000 Bitcoin on its balance sheet — a gap that makes clear how far down the pecking order Nakamoto falls. Following Stockholder Approval, Nakamoto Announces 1-for-40 Reverse Stock Split to be Effective May 22, 2026 Read the full announcement here: https://t.co/AnqTXttIMQ — Nakamoto (@nakamoto) May 20, 2026 Racing The Clock On Nasdaq The company is now focused on a more immediate problem: staying listed on the Nasdaq. Last December, Nasdaq sent Nakamoto a warning after its stock price dropped below $1 for 30 straight trading days. The deadline to fix that is June 8, and the fix the company has chosen is a 1-for-40 reverse stock split, set to take effect Friday. The move was approved by shareholders at a special meeting earlier this month. Under the plan, every 40 shares get combined into one, shrinking the total share count from 696 million down to 17.4 million. The stock closed at 16 cents Wednesday — down 7.5% for the day and more than 99% below where it traded a year ago. A reverse split does not change a company’s overall market value. It is a structural adjustment designed to push the price per share above a listing threshold. Related Reading: Zcash Soars 88% In 30 Days: Is ZEC The Stealth Winner Of This Crypto Cycle? Consolidation Ahead For The Sector Nakamoto’s troubles are not unique. Reports indicate that crypto treasury companies broadly have been in a downturn since 2025, with many trading below the value of the assets on their books. Some have begun selling their Bitcoin holdings to pay down debt. One company, Genius Group, liquidated its entire 84 Bitcoin reserve in February for that purpose. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView