Bitcoin’s value has experienced a significant decline of over 3% within the past day, driven by a confluence of factors including renewed geopolitical strife in the Middle East, persistent withdrawals from spot ETFs, and a failure to breach key technical resistance levels. The cryptocurrency slipped from roughly $77,880 to around $75,220 before a slight recovery to $75,700 during early Asian trading on May 27, as reported by crypto.news.
The downturn was exacerbated by reports that the United States conducted airstrikes near the Strait of Hormuz, heightening tensions with Iran and sparking fears of disruptions in global energy markets. This geopolitical shock triggered a rise in oil prices and reignited inflationary concerns, especially following stronger-than-expected CPI and PPI data earlier this month. As a result, traders now anticipate a delay in Federal Reserve rate cuts, which has dampened sentiment for liquidity-sensitive assets like cryptocurrencies. Gold gained ground during this period, while Bitcoin struggled to maintain levels above the psychologically significant $76,000 mark.
Adding to the bearish sentiment, spot Bitcoin ETF flows have weakened, with several U.S.-listed products recording net outflows in recent sessions as institutional demand waned after Bitcoin’s failed rally toward $82,000 earlier this month. Alex Thorn, head of research at Galaxy Digital, noted on May 26 that the market still faces substantial supply absorption near current levels, as holders from previous cycles continue to sell into rallies. Data from Galaxy indicates that nearly 4.45 million BTC have changed hands since the October 10, 2025 flash crash, with a significant portion originating from wallets that last moved Bitcoin above $103,600.
Technically, Bitcoin has lost momentum after breaking below an ascending parallel channel that guided price action through April and early May. The breakdown followed repeated rejections near the channel’s upper boundary, where sellers defended the $82,000 area aggressively. Fibonacci retracement levels from the February low near $59,988 to the May high near $98,051 place immediate support around the 0.382 level at $74,528, while the 0.5 retracement near $79,020 now acts as short-term resistance. The 200-day simple moving average near $80,169 has also capped upside attempts, and the 50-day moving average is beginning to turn lower.
On the weekly chart, Bitcoin remains well below its cycle high near $124,000, and the MACD continues to show negative momentum despite the rebound from the $60,000 region. RSI readings near 45 have not yet returned to bullish territory, indicating a lack of confirmed higher-timeframe trend reversal. Derivatives positioning points to elevated volatility, with CoinGlass liquidation heatmaps showing dense clusters of leveraged short positions between $77,800 and $81,000, while major liquidation pools below the current price exist near $74,000 and between $72,000 and $73,000.
Despite the sell-off, crypto analyst Crypto Candy stated that Bitcoin is still holding above a key demand zone of $76,000 to $74,000 and attempting to rebound. He expects that as long as this zone sustains, Bitcoin could reach the $83,000 to $85,000 area. Conversely, analyst BitcoinHyper outlined a cautious scenario, suggesting Bitcoin might form an ABC corrective structure, possibly rebounding to $79,000 before another leg lower toward $71,000. A decisive move below $74,000 would weaken the bullish structure and could expose Bitcoin to a decline toward the March accumulation area near $68,900. For now, Bitcoin remains trapped between heavy resistance near $78,000 and $80,000 and fragile support around $74,000 to $75,000, with traders focused on liquidity sweeps, ETF flow data, and macro headlines.