Bitcoin Slides to Three-Week Low Under $77K Amid Bear Dominance

TheNewsCryptoPublished on 2026-05-18Last updated on 2026-05-18

Abstract

Bitcoin (BTC) has dropped to a three-week low below $77,000, erasing gains made since early May. This decline follows a recent surge to 13-week highs above $83,000, driven by optimism around US crypto regulation and strong ETF inflows. Over $600 million in long positions were liquidated in the past day, with $190 million from Bitcoin. Analysts point to a negative technical divergence as BTC faced resistance above $82,000. Key support is seen at $76,000; a break below could target the $71,000-$73,000 zone or even the $65,000 local low. Geopolitical tensions, including US-Iran relations and oil supply concerns, contributed to broader market volatility.

In the last three days, the price of bitcoin (BTC) has fallen to a three-week low of $76,500, according to data from CMC. This wipes out all advances that bitcoin has achieved since May 1. Losses follow days of gains for the Bitcoin/USD pair, which surged to 13-week highs above $83,000 on the strength of optimism surrounding the US CLARITY Act and heavy inflows into spot exchange-traded funds. At the time of writing, BTC is trading at $76,829, down 1.66% as per data from CMC.

On Sunday, American President Donald Trump warned that the “clock is ticking” and made new threats against Iran over the peace agreement’s delays. In the last day, there has been a $607 million surge in long liquidations, with $190 million of the total coming from Bitcoin long liquidations.

With this, the total amount liquidated in the last 24 hours reached $677 million. While oil prices were volatile, WTI rose more than 3% in a few hours to $104/bbl before retracing to $101. With Trump’s apparent impatience with the peace negotiations reaching a stalemate and the expiration of a waiver for Russian oil deliveries adding to supply concerns around the still-disrupted Strait of Hormuz, WTI climbed beyond $103.

Fears of a Deeper Market Correction

Bitcoin investors, meanwhile, studied the technical setup in hopes of predicting the cryptocurrency’s future price movement. We are now seeing a downturn, according to analysts, since there was a negative divergence from the relative index when BTC/USD encountered resistance above $82,000.

According to crypto expert Michael van de Poppe, the market should avoid a catastrophic collapse if the $76,000 level of immediate support remains intact. Should this region be penetrated, further support levels to keep an eye on include the $71,000–73,000 demand zone and the local low at $65,000. The objective of an inverted V-shaped pattern is at $65,000, which is also the local low. From the current pricing, this is a 16% decrease.

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