On May 13, the price of Bitcoin dropped below $80,000. This correction coincided with the release of the Producer Price Index (PPI) for April, which rose by 1%—the highest increase since March 2022.
Hourly chart of BTC/USDT on Binance. Source: TradingView.
The annual core producer inflation reached 5.2%, exceeding expectations of 4.3%. This reduced the likelihood of a quick easing of the Federal Reserve's policy. Market estimates indicate a 30% chance of an interest rate hike by the end of the year, according to CME Group.
21Shares analyst Matt Mena noted that maintaining the $80,000 level is critical for the market. A downward breach could see prices test the $78,000 zone, followed by $75,000.
What About ETFs?
The decline was accompanied by an outflow of funds from institutional products. On May 12, the net outflow from spot Bitcoin ETFs was $233.25 million, and on May 14, it reached $635.23 million, marking the highest outflow since mid-February.
Source: SoSoValue.
In the Ethereum fund sector, outflows were recorded at $130.62 million on May 12 and $36.3 million on May 13.
According to Glassnode, the average daily net outflow over the past week was $88 million.
The 7D-SMA of US Spot ETF Netflow dropped to -$88M/day, the largest outflow since mid-February.
— glassnode (@glassnode) May 14, 2026
February's outflows occurred into price weakness. This wave is selling into strength, with BTC trading near $80k.
Institutional participants were using the recovery over the recent… https://t.co/BlsOLfq7yE pic.twitter.com/4qHLVjw7WC
Experts observed a shift in investor behavior: while funds were withdrawn amid falling prices in February, now sales are occurring during a strong market—while Bitcoin hovers near $80,000.
Institutional players have used the recent market recovery to exit positions. Analysts believe this is a deliberate profit-taking move rather than a reaction to fear or panic.
Corporate treasury activity has also declined. According to a Bitfinex report, the volume of purchases of digital gold by large companies fell by 80% over the week. Experts warn of potential volatility in the $82,000-$85,200 range due to an accumulation of options. Bitfinex believes the current rise is more likely a temporary short squeeze rather than the start of a sustainable trend.
Nexo specialists reported that amid the volatility, open interest in perpetual Bitcoin contracts decreased by 7% to $36.8 billion, indicating a reduction in the use of borrowed funds by traders.
Pressure on risk assets is also coming from the rise in the yield of 10-year U.S. government bonds to 4.46%. The market is closely watching discussions on the CLARITY Act in the Senate and the outcomes of President Donald Trump's visit to Beijing.
Other Factors
An expert using the pseudonym Easy On Chain believes that a combination of factors led to the decline in Bitcoin's price, from the influx of coins onto exchanges to macroeconomic data.
Why Did Bitcoin Crash? What Really Happened Inside the Market
— CryptoQuant.com (@cryptoquant_com) May 14, 2026
“A market weakened by falling outflows met a short-driven atmosphere and macro bad news, triggering a massive $109.7M long wipeout.” – By @easy_Vero pic.twitter.com/ZbF4NVcifI
By May 11, the market faced a shortage of buyers. While the influx of Bitcoins onto exchanges remained stable, the volume of withdrawals sharply declined to 19,995 BTC, significantly lower than the average levels at the beginning of the month (25,000-35,000 BTC). The net flow turned positive, creating excess liquidity for selling and removing price support.
From May 8 to 10, traders actively opened short positions—negative funding rates confirmed the bearish sentiment. When the price began to fall, a domino effect occurred: in three days, the market forcibly closed longs worth $109.7 million. On May 12, the volume of liquidations of long positions was 11 times greater than the losses of short sellers.
The final trigger was the release of the CPI and PPI indexes: macro data from the U.S. ultimately dampened investor sentiment, the analyst emphasized.
Easy On Chain believes that the potential for recovery is currently limited. A trend reversal would require a reduction in forced position closures and a return of net coin flow on exchanges to negative territory.
Whales Are Back
Glassnode analysts have noted a return of institutional demand for Bitcoin. After the price fell to $60,000 and subsequently recovered to $80,000, inflows into U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs have become consistently positive.
Rally Without Conviction$BTC has recovered above $80K as ETF inflows, spot demand, and positioning improve. However, weaker capital inflows and heavy overhead supply near $86K keep conviction below prior bull phases.
— glassnode (@glassnode) May 13, 2026
Read the full Week On-Chain👇https://t.co/ZKsyqqaQR5 pic.twitter.com/xjZREW5ify
During the February decline, the unrealized loss metric for investors reached 25%. After rising above $80,000, it fell to 8%. Experts believe the market has shifted from fear to uncertainty. If the $60,000 level holds, the current cycle could become the least "deep" decline in the asset's history.
Capital Movement
The net capital inflow into the network is $2.8 billion per month. This confirms a positive trend, although the figure is still significantly lower than the bull market levels of 2023-2025, when inflows exceeded $10 billion.
Glassnode highlighted the following key levels:
- Support: $76,900—the average purchase price of coins by short-term investors over the last 30 days;
- Resistance: $86,900—the zone of concentrated volumes accumulated from November to February.
Aggressive buying is observed on Coinbase, confirming demand in the spot market. Traders on the Hyperliquid platform are also increasing long positions.
Asset volatility is decreasing, and demand for hedging against price drops (buying put options) is weakening. Analysts warn of the market's sensitivity to the $82,000 mark: due to the nature of dealer positions, price movement into this zone could trigger a sharp increase in volatility.
Experts concluded that while the market structure is improving, capital inflow must increase for a full bull run.
Notably, MN Trading founder Michael van de Poppe believes that Bitcoin has no obvious reasons for a decline. He stated that there is a prevailing misconception in the market about the formation of a "bear flag" and a move towards $50,000 by the end of the year.