- Bitcoin held near $73,000 but risks crashing lower as risks linger.
- Spot Bitcoin ETFs saw net outflows of $229 million for a nine-day negative streak.
- On-chain metrics show whale balances flat for months, signaling reduced accumulation.
Bitcoin traded near $73,200 on Thursday after failing to sustain a rebound amid broader cryptocurrency selling.
While BTC struggled, US stock futures edged slightly higher following reports of a potential US-Iran agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, easing some geopolitical risk and supporting broader risk assets outside the crypto market.
Bitcoin’s ETF outflows extend negative streak
Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds continued to see withdrawals, extending a record nine-day streak of net outflows.
US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net redemptions of $229 million on May 28, bringing weekly net outflows to roughly $1.3 billion.
According to SoSoValue data, this would mark the third consecutive week of capital leaving BTC investment products.
Notably, the sustained outflows have coincided with price pressure on Bitcoin, undermining short-term liquidity and market sentiment.
On-chain analytics add further nuance to the picture. CryptoQuant data indicates that major Bitcoin holders have halted accumulation.
Dolphin balances, representing mid-sized holders, have printed successive lower highs since September 2025, while whale balances have remained largely flat since February 2026.
Historically, when both cohorts simultaneously pause or reduce accumulation, the market often experiences prolonged weakness as demand at higher price levels fades.
What next for Bitcoin price?
Analysts continue pointing to a mix of technical, options-market, and on-chain signals to assess Bitcoin’s near-term direction.
Glassnode observed that Bitcoin recently retested the $75,000 “strike,” a high gamma zone where options positioning can amplify price moves. This contributed to the pullback below $73,000, with BTC briefly falling near $72,500.
According to Greeks.live, the selloff occurred ahead of a major options expiry.
May 29 Options Expiration Data
84,000 BTC options expired, with a put-call ratio of 0.88, a maxpain point of $75,000, and a notional value of $6.2 billion.
639,000 ETH options expired, with a put-call ratio of 0.81, a maxpain point of $2,200, and a notional value of $1.28… pic.twitter.com/NNnFMy3tgx— Greeks.live (@GreeksLive) May 29, 2026
Analysts continue pointing to a mix of technical, options-market, and on-chain signals to assess Bitcoin’s near-term direction.
Glassnode observed that Bitcoin recently retested the $75,000 “strike,” a high gamma zone where options positioning can amplify price moves. This contributed to the pullback below $73,000, with BTC briefly falling near $72,500.
According to Greeks.live, the selloff occurred ahead of a major options expiry.
The on-chain analytics provider noted that the decline failed to fully extend after at-the-money implied volatility (ATM IV) briefly spiked during the drop, while longer-dated implied volatilities eased. This suggests many market participants still view the move as contained rather than the beginning of a broader structural trend reversal.
Despite this, risks remain asymmetric. Options markets continue implying the potential for larger moves than spot markets have so far produced, leaving room for renewed volatility around expiries and macroeconomic developments.
“The market’s next focus is on whether capital will flow back in, and whether BTC can reclaim $75,000 and ETH can retake $2,100. The settlement appears more like a “bearish unwinding”—large positions have expired—but the fact that both BTC and ETH are trading below their key resistance levels indicates that the dominant force this week has not been chasing rallies, but rather risk aversion and a retreat by longs. The market’s bullish sentiment is currently very fragile,” analysts at Greeks.live noted.
Technically, analysts have identified $70,000 as a key downside level.
A break below that zone could trigger deeper weakness and accelerate outflows. Meanwhile, a sustained recovery above $80,000 would likely signal renewed conviction and could attract fresh inflows into both spot products and derivatives markets.
