Bitcoin is under renewed selling pressure as global market uncertainty weighs on risk assets, but bulls have held the critical $75,000 area so far. After failing to sustain gains above $80,000 earlier this month, BTC is trading in a tight range as traders look for signs that the current correction is stabilizing or preparing for another leg down.
Analyst Darkfost highlights a striking development beneath the price action: spot trading volumes have collapsed to levels typically seen in bear markets. CryptoQuant data show Binance’s spot volume has plunged from roughly $198.6 billion in October 2025 to about $36.4 billion today — an 81% decline. Other major venues are similarly weaker: Gateio volumes are down nearly 80% and Bybit has seen roughly a 66% drop. Comparable low-volume stretches were last seen around July 2023.
Why this matters: lower spot volume usually signals falling participation — weaker speculative demand and reduced institutional engagement. Darkfost and others point to a harsher macro backdrop as a root cause: rising inflationary pressures, persistent uncertainty over monetary policy paths, and a longer-than-expected geopolitical shock (the US/Iran conflict) have pushed capital into commodities, energy and major equities instead of back into crypto.
But the volume collapse can be read two ways. While it reflects weaker conviction, prolonged low participation has historically coincided with the latter stages of corrective phases rather than the front end of fresh collapses. As participants and aggressive sellers drop out, selling pressure can run out of steam — a dynamic seen in the 2023 bear market when spot volumes fell to depressed levels shortly before volatility eased and a recovery phase began.
Technically, Bitcoin remains perched above the short-term support zone. BTC is consolidating near $76,800 after rejecting the $82,000 resistance earlier in the month. The 50-day moving average sits around the mid-$75,000 area and has been defending price so far, overlapping a horizontal demand zone roughly between $73,000 and $75,000. That region has repeatedly absorbed selling during May.
At the same time, longer moving averages (the 100-day and 200-day) are sloping lower, underscoring that the broader structure still reflects a corrective bias despite the rebound from February’s lows near $63,000. Bitcoin is in a compression phase: a convincing break above $80,000–$82,000 would restore bullish momentum, while a decisive loss of the $75,000 support could open the path back toward the $70,000 area.
In short: the collapse in spot volume is a warning sign about market participation and risk appetite, driven by macro forces, but it can also mark the point at which selling pressure ebbs. Traders should watch the $75,000 support and the $80,000–$82,000 resistance for clues about whether the market is preparing to trend higher again or roll into a deeper retracement.
