Bitcoin traded near $73,200 on Thursday after failing to sustain a rebound amid broader crypto selling. The pressure came as $6.2 billion in BTC options expired today — the biggest monthly settlement since March — and spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded their ninth consecutive day of net outflows.
Options settlement turns bearish
Derivatives data from Greeks.live showed 84,000 Bitcoin options and 639,000 Ether options expiring on May 29, with a put-call ratio of 0.88 for BTC and 0.81 for ETH. The maxpain point — the price where most options expire worthless — sat at $75,000 for Bitcoin and $2,200 for Ether. Both assets are trading below those levels.
The selloff ahead of expiry failed to fully extend after at-the-money implied volatility briefly spiked, then eased for longer-dated contracts. Greeks.live analysts described the settlement as a “bearish unwinding” and noted that both BTC and ETH are below key resistance, pointing to “risk aversion and retreat by longs.”
ETF outflows extend losing streak
Spot Bitcoin ETFs shed $229 million on May 28, pushing weekly net outflows to roughly $1.3 billion — the third straight week of capital leaving BTC investment products. The streak now stands at nine days, the longest since the products launched.
CryptoQuant data shows that major holders aren't stepping in to absorb. Dolphin wallets — addresses holding between 10 and 100 BTC — have printed successively lower highs since September 2025. Whale balances have been flat since February 2026. Accumulation has stalled.
Key levels to watch
Technically, analysts have flagged $70,000 as the critical downside level. A break below that could accelerate outflows and trigger deeper weakness. On the other side, a sustained recovery above $80,000 would signal renewed conviction and likely draw fresh inflows into both spot products and derivatives.
The pullback below $73,000 was partly driven by options positioning around the $75,000 strike, a high gamma zone where hedging can amplify moves, according to Glassnode. Bitcoin briefly retested that level this week before being rejected.
Broader macro provides a lift — for now
US stock futures edged slightly higher Thursday on reports of a potential agreement between the US and Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The news eased some geopolitical risk and supported risk assets outside crypto. But so far, that optimism hasn't spilled into digital assets.
The question now is whether Bitcoin can hold above $70,000 into the weekend, or whether the bearish unwind from today's expiry extends into next week.
