Bitcoin’s momentum waned on Friday after briefly breaching the $81,000 mark. The biggest cryptocurrency on the market was trading at $79,295 by the end of the session.
Bigger Treasury yields drove down risk assets in world markets. The 10-year Treasury has reached its highest level since mid-2025.
Investors pulled back with the positive momentum from the CLARITY Act vote. According to the CoinGecko data, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization was almost $2.68 trillion.
Trading volume for the cryptocurrencies stayed at $107 billion per day. Bitcoin Dominance was at 58.3 percent, and Ethereum Dominance was at 9.85 percent. The overall broad market decline was met with the only exception being BNB.
Bitcoin has broken the $80,000 support level as Treasury yields have jumped on Friday. [Courtesy: Bloomingbit]
Kevin Warsh’s Fed Chair Debut Pressures Crypto Markets
Warsh took over as the Federal Reserve Chair on May 15. He was confirmed to the U.S. Senate by a narrow margin of 54-45. Businesses were somewhat tentative in the wake of his first day in office. Earlier, Warren called Bitcoin “the new gold for people under 40”. He also revealed investments that are tied to Bitwise, dYdX, and Flashnet.
But his monetary policy attitude is still hawkish. Warsh is a proponent of stricter balance sheet policies and a higher real interest rate. Markets are now speculating about a sustained period of high interest rates.
According to CME FedWatch data, there is a 97% chance that the Fed will not cut the rate in June. The odds of zero rate cuts this year have risen to 62% in the sight of the traders in the Polymarket.
Despite the market weakness, CLARITY is moving forward.
The CLARITY Act has taken a historic 15-9 bipartisan vote in the Senate Banking Committee. The bill is the most significant crypto regulation advancement in U.S. history. The bill splits the oversight among the SEC and CFTC. It adds yield compromises on stablecoins and developer safeguards.
The markets were initially reacting well on Thursday. Coinbase stock rose 10%, and Strategy and MARA Holdings stock climbed 7% for each. But much of those gains were wiped out in the market reversal on Friday.
Although there were positive regulatory updates, Bitcoin was unable to maintain its momentum. At the moment, macroeconomic factors are stronger than legislative optimism in digital assets markets, according to analysts.
The Senate Banking Committee unanimously approved the CLARITY Act. [Courtesy: Digitaltoday]
ETF outflows are an indicator of institutional profit-taking
| ETF Flow Metric | Latest Data | Market Interpretation |
| Spot Bitcoin ETF Outflows | -$635 million on May 13 | Largest single-day withdrawal since January 29 |
| BlackRock IBIT Flow | -$285 million | The biggest contributor to total outflows |
| ARKB Flow | -$177 million | Continued institutional de-risking |
| Ethereum ETF Outflows | -$36.3 million | Weak institutional appetite for ETH exposure |
| Five-Day BTC ETF Outflows | ~$1.26 billion | Threatens the previous positive inflow trend |
| April 2026 Net Inflows | ~$1.97 billion | Earlier optimism now appears unsustainable |
| Analyst Interpretation | Profit-taking, not panic selling | Institutions repositioning amid higher yields |
| Bitcoin Market Impact | Weak near-term price structure | Falling ETF demand hurts confidence levels |
Bitcoin Price Today is encountering significant resistance at key levels
With the market becoming more volatile, traders have been keeping an eye on a few key price levels across digital asset markets, including the big altcoins and the flagship, Bitcoin. The main technical areas that are influencing the sentiment of the market are as follows:
- Bitcoin is still clinging to its 200-day moving average of $82,228. The level rejected BTC five times during May.
- Bitcoin’s immediate support level is close to $79,000, while the bottom of the correction range is at $77,500 to $78,300.
- Ethereum has traded near $2,282 at the start of the trading day on Friday, but the price has been dropping since that point to approach $2,271.
- Solana closed around the price of $90.44 following a loss from previous levels of $92 to $90.05.
- XRP has bounced back down to $1.43 from its brief $1.50 highs.
- Shifting macroeconomic expectations have further fueled the volatility in crypto markets, with market participants staying cautious.
Altcoins are firmly reversing from Thursday’s rally
But some altcoins took a beating on Thursday, as they dropped all significant gains on Friday. XRP fell after it moved below $1.50. BUILDon has fallen 26.6% from its previous day’s gains.
Profit-taking ramped up, as SKYAI also fell 17.8%. But there were still some projects that beat the market. Hyperliquid rose by 21.2% after appreciating the prospects of decentralised exchange infrastructure. Dogecoin rose 3% as there was a resurgence in meme coin activity.
Cardano sort of bounced back after it got overly washed out, and it managed to lift around 2.7%. Meanwhile, the altcoins market looked bearish, and a lot of investors took a more defensive posture, you know, less willing to push risk.
Even with the wider economic scene being a bit less lively and financial conditions tightening globally, that regulatory optimism remains kinda encouraging for certain, more selective projects.
Investors are closely attentive to the key price levels on the crypto market
Major cryptocurrencies have several key points of interest to watch at the technical level that are of concern to investors. These price levels can be potential support/resistance areas for the upcoming sessions.
- Bitcoin support is kind of hanging around $79,000 and $77,500, give or take a bit.
- For resistance, Bitcoin looks like it’s posted near $80,000 and $82,228 more or less,
- Ethereum is still holding onto those important support levels at $2,250 and $2,200.
- As for resistance on Ethereum, it feels like it’s pacing between the $2300 and $2400 stretch, give or take.
- Three areas of resistance near $93 and $95 are met on Solana.
- XRP traders are still observing the support level at $1.40.
They will help inform the Fed’s posture before the first OMO meeting of Warsh in June.
Volatility in the market is becoming more prominent
Friday’s sell-off had a much more dramatic effect on crypto derivatives markets. According to CoinGlass data, total liquidations touched $437.48 million within the span of just 24 hours.
Out of the total liquidations, 87.5% were long positions valued at $382.92 million. Ethereum traders saw the biggest losses, worth over $104 million.
Nearly $97.32 million in bitcoin liquidations trailed. Binance had the largest percentage of Bitcoin liquidations at 40.2%. Analysts said the market is not in a panic collapse mode but rather in a deleveraging mode.
The Fear and Greed Index improved slightly to 49 from Wednesday’s reading of 34. But investor sentiment is subdued as markets react to Warsh’s outlook on policy and the continued inflation pressures.
Also Read: Claude AI Helps Man Recover 5 Bitcoin Worth $400,000 After 11 Years
FAQs
Q1: Why is Bitcoin trading back below $80,000?
A1: Bitcoin slipped as Treasury yields rose and investors anticipated extended higher interest rates with a new Fed leader in charge, Kevin Warsh. The sentiment tax was also hit by ETF outflows.
Q2: What Is The CLARITY Act In Crypto?
A2: The CLARITY Act outlines the SEC and CFTC’s oversight of crypto assets. It was approved by a bipartisan vote of 15-9 in the Senate Banking Committee.
Q3: The value of Bitcoin ETFs fell this week by how much?
A3: Bitcoin ETFs lost $635 million just on May 13. Total cumulative outflows for the five days amounted to about $1.26 billion.
Disclaimer
This article is for informational purposes only, and it does not amount to financial, investment, or trading advice. Cryptocurrency markets stay very volatile, and they involve a pretty material amount of risk. Readers should do their own independent research before taking any investment action. Crafmin also cannot promise the correctness of any market projections, price objectives, or third-party data that shows up in this report. Past market results do not ensure future results, either.
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