The Bitcoin Meltdown: What’s Behind The Drop To $76,000, And What’s Next

Bitcoin (BTC) has slid sharply over the past week, retracing nearly 7% and wiping out the upside that built after last week’s Senate Banking Committee markup of the CLARITY Act. That legislative momentum helped push BTC above the $82,000 area, but the coin is now changing hands around $76,700.

Glassnode’s latest read on the situation points to a clear deterioration in short-term market behavior. The firm says the Bitcoin selling pressure has intensified, with Spot CVD falling by 848.7%. 

At the same time, spot volume is up about 4.2%, suggesting that more coins are moving through the market. Glassnode interprets this as rising activity that may not necessarily reflect a bullish mindset, but rather traders responding more aggressively to price volatility and hedging or repositioning. 

Futures Open Interest also dropped 2.9%, which usually signals that traders are not as enthusiastic about adding leverage during uncertain conditions. However, Glassnode also notes that Long-Side Funding Payments have jumped 136.6%, a sign that demand for long Bitcoin exposure has reappeared. 

That bullish signal is not staying dominant for long, though. The firm highlights a steep 278.7% decline in Perpetual CVD, which points to strong sell-side pressure still showing up in the perpetual market, where downside control can quickly affect broader sentiment.

Sentiment from traditional finance has also softened. Glassnode points to a 6.1% drop in US Spot Bitcoin ETF MVRV, alongside a sharp deterioration in ETF net flows, implying weaker conviction from institutional players. 

Beyond sentiment, Glassnode noted that long-term holder dominance continues to build, while NUPL and the Realized Profit-to-Loss Ratio have weakened sharply. Those shifts typically align with fading optimism—less “euphoria,” more defensive behavior as traders reassess risk after the pullback.

Putting those signals together, Glassnode’s conclusion is that the Bitcoin market structure is beginning to soften. Momentum, spot demand, and speculative positioning are all described as weakening across the board. 

Adding to the bearish backdrop surrounding the cryptocurrency’s outlook, analyst Kabuki has argued on X (formerly Twitter) that Bitcoin is still operating within a “Bear Cycle,” despite the partial recovery seen since the start of the year after brief periods of relief. 

Kabuki’s analysis suggests that another bearish phase could unfold over the next few weeks, and he has highlighted specific targets for the cryptocurrency. He points to $71,000 “in days,” and then a much lower target of $42,000 in June, which could translate to a further 45% decline in BTC’s price from current trading levels.

Featured image created with OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com