{"id":97178,"date":"2026-05-18T11:51:41","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T08:51:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/?p=97178"},"modified":"2026-05-18T11:56:42","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T08:56:42","slug":"bitcoin-slips-below-77000","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/bitcoin-slips-below-77000\/","title":{"rendered":"Bitcoin slips below $77,000"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>On May 18, bitcoin fell to about $76,580 \u2014 the lowest since May 1. Altcoins slipped in its wake.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-0e68e8402bb0725b-4695401424216880.webp\" alt=\"BTCUSDT_2026-05-18_10-42-15\" class=\"wp-image-280090\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Hourly chart of BTC\/USDT on Binance. Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tradingview.com\/chart\/?symbol=BINANCE%3ABTCUSDT\">TradingView<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/what-is-cryptos-fear-and-greed-index\">Fear and Greed Index<\/a> stands at 27.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-769341fc4308c737-4695420977033773.webp\" alt=\"\u0421\u043d\u0438\u043c\u043e\u043a \u044d\u043a\u0440\u0430\u043d\u0430 2026-05-18 104320\" class=\"wp-image-280091\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/alternative.me\/crypto\/fear-and-greed-index\/\">Alternative<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Analysts <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theblock.co\/post\/401583\/bitcoin-drops-below-77000\">linked<\/a> the drop to rising U.S. Treasury yields, a stronger dollar and an escalation in the Middle East.<\/p>\n<p>The day before, U.S. president Donald Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cd0p4y9y48xo\">threatened<\/a> Iran with military action if peace talks drag on. Against this backdrop, Brent crude rose to $111 and WTI to $107.7.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-11d7461d88ec11ce-4695443657716443.webp\" alt=\"\u0421\u043d\u0438\u043c\u043e\u043a \u044d\u043a\u0440\u0430\u043d\u0430 2026-05-18 113848\" class=\"wp-image-280092\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/tradingeconomics.com\/commodity\/brent-crude-oil\">Trading Economics<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Investors fear that pricier oil could nudge <span data-descr=\"U.S. Federal Reserve System\" class=\"old_tooltip\">the Fed<\/span> toward tighter policy. According to BTSE\u2019s chief operating officer Jeff Mei, the market is pricing the risk of interest-rate hikes to fight inflation.<\/p>\n<p>Uncertainty has bled into crypto <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/what-is-a-cryptocurrency-etf\">ETF<\/a>s: $1 billion was withdrawn in the week of May 13\u201317, snapping a six-week run of inflows.<\/p>\n<p>Presto Research\u2019s Min Jun noted that institutions are trimming exposure to risk assets ahead of macro data. Bitrue Research Institute called the pullback a \u201chealthy correction\u201d and highlighted support around $74,000.<\/p>\n<p>The sharp move triggered mass liquidations. In just 15 minutes at the start of the Asian session, almost $500 million of long positions were wiped out. Total forced long closures exceeded $606 million.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-ecc392f6f9ef322d-4695471698339881.webp\" alt=\"\u0421\u043d\u0438\u043c\u043e\u043a \u044d\u043a\u0440\u0430\u043d\u0430 2026-05-18 105414\" class=\"wp-image-280093\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.coinglass.com\/liquidations\">CoinGlass<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>BTC Markets analyst Rachel Lucas <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2026-05-18\/bitcoin-btc-hits-two-week-low-as-crypto-liquidations-top-half-a-billion\">called<\/a> bitcoin\u2019s correction \u201ca macroeconomic story.\u201d In her words, risk appetite has declined, pushing up oil prices and bond yields while the stock market fell.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>On Deribit, demand <a href=\"https:\/\/www.deribit.com\/statistics\/BTC\/metrics\/options\">rose<\/a> for put options with a $77,500 strike. Sean McNulty of FalconX added that the drop amplified the triggering of stop-losses set by investors last week.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Retail investors<\/h2>\n<p>Inflows of bitcoin from small players to Binance have fallen to record lows, according to an analyst who goes by Darkfost.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83d\uddde\ufe0f Retail activity hits historic Lows as BTC Inflows collapse<\/p>\n<p>It is often said that the Bitcoin market is constantly evolving and transforming over time.<br \/>This can notably be observed through the behavior of different market participants, especially retail investors. <\/p>\n<p>Here,\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/2E9SdmfOHp\">pic.twitter.com\/2E9SdmfOHp<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Darkfost (@Darkfost_Coc) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Darkfost_Coc\/status\/2056255462677377339?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 18, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The expert classifies retail investors as wallet holders with balances under 1 BTC.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The current average monthly inflow from such users to Binance is 314 BTC. For comparison:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>during the bear phase of the current cycle it hovered around 1,800 BTC;<\/li>\n<li>at the March 2024 peak \u2014 about 1,200 BTC;<\/li>\n<li>in January 2024 \u2014 1,000 BTC.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Previous cycles were far livelier: in 2018 retail inflows reached 5,400 BTC, and in 2021 \u2014 2,600 BTC. Over two years the figure has fallen by more than threefold.<\/p>\n<p>Darkfost noted that retail investors are gradually \u201cdisappearing from observable on-chain activity.\u201d He sees this as a market transformation: some small players may have exited the industry entirely, while others prefer to invest in bitcoin through spot ETFs rather than holding the asset directly.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Long-term investors<\/h2>\n<p>Darkfost observed an increase in the supply of bitcoin held by long-term holders (LTHs): they control 15.26 million BTC \u2014 the level of August 2024. Over the past 30 days the figure has risen by roughly 316,000 BTC.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83d\udcc8 The supply held by Long Term Holders (LTHs) continues to increase as investors keep holding their BTC.<\/p>\n<p>\u27a1\ufe0f We are now back to 15.26 million BTC held by these investors, who are generally considered much more stable than STHs. <\/p>\n<p>This brings the metric back to levels last seen\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0Cri4aFraB\">pic.twitter.com\/0Cri4aFraB<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Darkfost (@Darkfost_Coc) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Darkfost_Coc\/status\/2055646583459356989?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 16, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The picture has changed from late November, when net outflows from LTH wallets totaled 650,000 BTC.<\/p>\n<p>The expert noted that investors who bought the cryptocurrency around six months ago are in no hurry to take profits.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Darkfost expects a notable jump in the metric around May 23: 800,000 BTC previously moved by Coinbase will officially enter the \u201cheld for more than six months\u201d category and add to the long-term holder supply.<\/p>\n<p>On May 13, the leading cryptocurrency <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/bitcoin-drops-below-80000-as-us-inflation-quickens\">fell<\/a> below $80,000 amid accelerating U.S. inflation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On May 18, bitcoin fell to about $76,580 \u2014 the lowest since May 1. Altcoins slipped in its wake.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":97179,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"select":"1","news_style_id":"1","cryptorium_level":"","_short_excerpt_text":"Bitcoin drops to ~$76,580, a low since May 1; altcoins follow.","creation_source":"","_metatest_mainpost_news_update":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[480,1205,1145],"class_list":["post-97178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-bitcoin-price","tag-cryptoquant","tag-market-analysis"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"views":"7","promo_type":"1","layout_type":"1","short_excerpt":"Bitcoin drops to ~$76,580, a low since May 1; altcoins follow.","is_update":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97178"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97178\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97180,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97178\/revisions\/97180"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}