Bitcoin Slips to $74,530 as Long Traders Face $106M Wipeout

Bitcoin trended downward on Wednesday, dropping beneath the $75,000 threshold to trade at $74,570 at the time of writing. This slide erased nearly 3% of its weekly value and dragged its market capitalization back below $1.5 trillion.

Onchain Metrics Signal Fading Momentum

For the second consecutive day, bitcoin trended downward, slipping below the $75,000 threshold even as major Wall Street indexes hovered near record highs. According to Bitstamp data, the leading cryptocurrency plummeted to its daily low after spending much of the prior 24-hour trading session above $75,500.

The sharpest decline began around 8:44 a.m. EST, when the digital asset tumbled from $76,800 to $74,637 in just under two hours. Although it mounted a brief recovery to just over $75,300 an hour later, bitcoin ultimately lost momentum, retreating to an intraday low of $74,530. The latest slide dragged bitcoin’s market capitalization below the $1.5 trillion mark for the second time this month and widened its weekly loss to nearly 3%.

Bitcoin’s short-term weakness aligns closely with underlying shifts highlighted in Glassnode’s weekly onchain report. Data indicates that bitcoin’s broader upside momentum is cooling beneath the surface, stalled by weakening spot demand and a sharp deterioration in U.S. spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) netflows.

Glassnode analysts noted that while the asset remains structurally resilient—supported by defensive positioning from long-term holders—onchain metrics such as the realized profit-to-loss ratio suggest capital inflows are fading, keeping the market far below the levels historically associated with an aggressive bull run. Instead, bitcoin is firmly tracking global risk appetite rather than decoupling from macro markets.

The downward price action triggered accelerated derivative wipeouts on Wednesday, causing $115.3 million in leveraged bitcoin positions to be liquidated—a 15% increase from the $100 million plus recorded the previous day. Long bets bore the brunt of the volatility, accounting for nearly $106 million of the bitcoin liquidations. This flush-out underscores Glassnode’s warning regarding an increasingly crowded long positioning in the futures market. Across the broader cryptocurrency market, total liquidations reached $334 million on May 27, with long positions making up $285.6 million of the wreckage.

Equities Steady on Falling Energy Prices

In contrast to bitcoin, global equities remained mostly flat, with South Korea’s Kospi index proving the lone outlier after surging more than 180 points, or 2.25%. Analysts attributed the equity relief rally to a significant pullback in energy prices and growing optimism surrounding diplomatic developments in the Middle East. At the time of writing, Brent crude had retreated to just above $95 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) dipped below $90 per barrel.

The drop in oil prices followed reports that U.S.-Iran diplomatic negotiations may be entering their final stages, easing fears of an escalated regional conflict and persistent supply blockages.

Yet despite the mounting optimism for a potential diplomatic breakthrough, participants on decentralized prediction markets remained skeptical. On Polymarket, traders placed the odds of the U.S. and Iran reaching an agreement by May 31 at just 30%. Similarly, on Kalshi, the implied probability of the Strait of Hormuz fully opening before July 1 sat at 36%.