On May 21, the price of the leading cryptocurrency fell below $78,000. The market faced pressure from the ongoing outflow from bitcoin-ETFs and low demand in the spot market.
On May 20, the net outflow from funds amounted to $70.47 million. This negative trend has persisted for four consecutive sessions.
The situation with Ethereum-ETFs appears worse: the net outflow reached $28.14 million, with total losses over the past nine days exceeding $500 million.
Analysts at Bitfinex noted that the market faced a massive wave of liquidations at the start of the week. Monday was the worst day since February, with long positions worth $584 million forcibly closed. Despite the stabilization of open interest in the range of $36.6 billion-$37.8 billion, buyers have yet to show activity.
According to a report by Glassnode, bitcoin is trading below the “true market average price” ($78,300). Historically, this level separates bullish and bearish trends. For growth to resume, the price must consolidate above this mark, which currently acts as resistance.
Experts identified several key factors contributing to bitcoin’s weakness:
- Decline in volumes: trading activity in the spot market has fallen by 40% compared to last year;
- Role reversal: U.S. investors have begun distributing coins, while Asian participants have shifted to accumulation;
- Profit-taking: the realized profit index has jumped to 1.8. This indicates that sellers are using any price rebound to exit positions, and current demand is insufficient to absorb this supply.
Analysts identified the nearest support zone as the range of $71,400-$76,500. A drop below these levels could signal a loss of confidence among short-term investors.
Pessimistic sentiment also prevails in the options market. Over the past day, more than 90% of premiums were for purchasing put options. A large cluster of orders is concentrated around $75,000—if this price is reached, the decline may accelerate due to the actions of market makers.
Amid overall stagnation, bitcoin’s dominance remains at 60%. Altcoins mostly follow the flagship, except for Hyperliquid and Zcash, which have shown growth contrary to the market trend.
According to Bitfinex experts, a sustainable return of bitcoin above $80,000 requires an influx of new capital into ETFs or a significant short squeeze.
Back on May 19, analysts at K33 predicted a bottom for digital gold at $60,000.