Bitcoin failed to sustain its rebound above $80,000 and has since fallen to the $75,000 level, where it has been consolidating for the past three days, according to AMBCrypto. The brief recovery above $80K was partly driven by a short squeeze, with more than $290 million in short positions liquidated, a CryptoQuant report noted.
Stablecoin supply and large wallet activity
The stablecoin supply fell by about 5% over the past month, suggesting some capital was rotated into BTC and other cryptocurrencies. For instance, the Drift Protocol hacker went long after swapping $13 million USD Coin (USDC) on Hyperliquid for Bitcoin. Some large wallets were also accumulating BTC even as apparent demand remained negative, indicating the market did not absorb available supply.
Why Bitcoin couldn't hold $80K
Despite mild buying activity, Bitcoin did not hold above $80K. The CryptoQuant report pointed to several on-chain factors:
- Weak spot demand: The monthly average net spot volume delta was -$28 million on Binance and -$9.40 million on Coinbase.
- Short-term holder deposits: Short-term holders moved about 32.70K BTC to exchanges this month. While these transfers do not prove sales, they imply looming selling pressure.
- ETF outflows: Institutional demand through BTC ETFs fell flat, with $412 million in net outflows. The largest single outflow came from BlackRock's IBIT, where traders sold $403 million in BTC.
- Whale short positioning: On Hyperliquid, whales have been adding shorts, and net positioning turned bearish after seven months of being bullish. The last time BTC had such large short exposure was in October 2025, when the price crashed to $60K afterward.
- Negative Coinbase Premium Index: The index, which tracks Coinbase and Binance for the U.S. market, has stayed negative.
Can returning buyers reverse the decline?
At press time, BTC's price action showed sideways consolidation since the crash to $75,000. Returning mild accumulation could offset bearish positioning and support a recovery, but improvements are needed in apparent demand, ETF inflows, and U.S. buying pressure.
Final summary
Bitcoin slid back to $75K a few days after reclaiming $80K as support. BTC is struggling to hold above $80K due to weak spot demand, ETF outflows, and selling by short-term holders.
