Bitcoin fell below $80,000 from 12 to 16 May after repeated rejections near $81,000 and $82,000. ETF outflows worsened the downtrend, with U.S. Spot Bitcoin ETFs seeing $290 million in net outflows on 15 May. Ethereum ETFs lost $65.66 million in five straight days of outflows. Treasury yields climbed to 4.59%–4.60%, raising the cost of holding non-yielding assets. BlackRock moved 1,768 BTC from Coinbase Prime, showing institutional caution.
Bitcoin’s price began recovering on 30 April after buyers defended the broader $75,000-support region thanks to improving short-term sentiment. Momentum strengthened further in early May as BTC climbed towards $82,000 on the back of rising speculative participation.
However, repeated rejections near $81,000 and $82,000 gradually weakened bullish continuation once profit-taking pressure intensified across the broader market.
That weakness accelerated between 12 and 16 May as large red candles pushed Bitcoin back below the key $80,000-support at press time.
As expected, altcoins also declined sharply alongside Bitcoin as broader risk appetite weakened beneath rising uncertainty.
Solana [SOL] fell by nearly 7.9% and Hyperliquid [HYPE] dropped by 6.6%, while Cardano [ADA] lost over 7% of its value. Meanwhile, Tron [TRX] and BNB [BNB] remained comparatively resilient despite broader market weakness.