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Bitcoin News

Bitcoin Drops to $78K, Wipes Out $80 Billion in Two Days

Sharp sell-off triggered by cascading long liquidations sends Bitcoin to $77,800 amid high social euphoria and looming regulatory clarity hopes.

Written By Sharmistha Suman
Fact Checked by Jahnu Jagtap
Published 2026-05-16·Updated 3 weeks ago
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Bitcoin Drops to $78K, Wipes Out $80 Billion in Two Days

Key Highlights

  • Bitcoin dropped to $77,824, losing 1.93% in 24 hours and 3.15% over the past week, breaking the critical $78K psychological level.
  • A massive liquidation cascade amplified the decline, with $573.57M total rekt in 24 hours, mostly long positions ($546M).
  • BTC-specific liquidations reached $194.76M, led by Binance at $35.12M.

Bitcoin (BTC), the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, has witnessed a major price slip below $78k following a major liquidation event on Saturday, starting the weekend with a selloff and macro pressure, spot Bitcoin ETF outflows, and leverage liquidations hit the market at the same time.

According to CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin slipped around 1.93% in the past 24 hours with a market capitalization of about $1.56 trillion and volume above $31 billion. The drop followed a failed hold above the $80,000 zone, with BTC sliding from the $81,800 high seen in the early week to lows near $77,000. Based on the circulating supply of about 20.03 million BTC, that move erased roughly $80 billion in implied market value from the local high.

Liquidations played a vital role

Liquidations stood as one of the core reasons for intensifying Bitcoin’s decline. In the past 24 hours, overall liquidations reached $573.57 million, with long-bearing burning at $546.03 million compared to only $27.54 million in shorts. 

CoinGlass Liquidation Heatmap
CoinGlass Liquidation Heatmap | Source: CoinGlass

The CoinGlass heatmap reveals the Bitcoin-specific liquidations at $194.76, far surpassing ETH’s $172.11 million. On the other hand, Binance led the exchange-wise liquidations with $35.12 million in BTC liquidations. 

Following Binance, Hyperliquid and Bybit stood in second and third place with $5.52 million and $5.50 million in liquidations, respectively. Overall exchange liquidations stood at $56.38 million. The event triggered the unrolling of highly leveraged long positions, making a feedback loop: slipping prices triggered stops, which pushed prices lower, wiping out billions across the ecosystem. 

Bitcoin ETFs post $1 billion weekly outflow

The weekly outflows from U.S.-listed Bitcoin ETFs have seen their highest levels in months, recording a net outflow of $1 billion for the week ended May 15, 2026, per data compiled by SoSoValue.

This represents a complete turnaround from six successive weeks of inflows, reflecting weakening institutional interest. In a single day, the 11 Bitcoin ETFs recorded outflows of $290.42 million, with all the ETFs registering red flows. 

Despite the setback, the overall net inflows since their inception in January 2024 amount to $58.34 billion against total assets of $104.29 billion. Bitcoin was trading at around $79,000 at the time.

What does the technical indicator reveal? 

RSI and Fib Retracement - BTC Price Chart
RSI and Fib Retracement | Source: TradingView

On the 24-hour chart, Bitcoin witnessed a low of $77,630.73 and a high of $79,516.87 before closing around $77,800. The weekly view attained a peak of $82,000 on May 11. After this, strong red candles and increased selling pressure became visible from May 13 onward. 

The technical indicators show RSI (14) at 48, showing a neutral value, swinging near the midline and not yet deeply oversold, leaving space for further downside. The classic pivot point remains at $73,835, with immediate resistance at R1 $81,975 and strong overhead at R2 $87,639. The first support zone remains at $68,171.  

The breach of the $80K zone turned previous support into resistance, confirming bearish momentum in the short term. 

Surged euphoria 

On a positive side, yesterday, Santiment, an on-chain intelligence provider, mentioned that Bitcoin sentiment on social media platforms attained one of the greedier levels of 2026. The spike was followed by the advancement of the CLARITY Act with a 15-9 bipartisan vote from the Senate Banking Committee. As of yesterday, Bitcoin’s bullish vs. bearish ratio stood at 1.55:1. 

Broader context

The fall of Bitcoin to $77,800 is a clear example of how volatile the market can be and the damaging effects of using leverage. 

While the immediate future might not be bright, the fundamentals of Bitcoin, such as scarcity, adoption, and digital gold, remain strong. This decline, while brutal and magnified by over $573M in rekted positions, could provide good buying opportunities for believers.

Investors must be careful with leverage and manage risks. The coming days will decide if this is a proper correction or the beginning of a bigger one.

Also Read: Are Roaring Kitty, Matt Furie, and WinRAR X Account Hacks Connected?

Disclaimer: The information researched and reported by The Crypto Times is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional financial advice. Investing in crypto assets involves significant risk due to market volatility. Always Do Your Own Research (DYOR) and consult with a qualified Financial Advisor before making any investment decisions.

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