Institutions, Whales Sell as Bitcoin Enters June; $73,869 Test

Institutions and large holders reduced Bitcoin exposure in May as the price traded near $73,469 heading into June. Bitcoin spot ETFs recorded $2.30 billion in net outflows for May, the largest monthly redemption of 2026 and the biggest since November 2025. That reversed two months of inflows of $1.97 billion in April and $1.32 billion in March. The cumulative ETF net inflow declined to $55.79 billion from $58.09 billion in April. Bitcoin fell 3.69% in May, while February’s $206 million redemption coincided with a 14.8% price drop.

Onchain data indicate large holders reduced positions in late May. The number of addresses holding 1,000 BTC or more reached 1,285 on May 22 and fell to 1,279 by May 28, a decline equivalent to at least 6,000 BTC distributed over about a week, or roughly $440 million at current prices. The Hodler Net Position Change, which tracks net buying or selling by addresses holding coins for at least 155 days, moved from 42,301 BTC on May 24 to 39,049 BTC on May 28, a 7.69% decline.

On the three-day chart, Bitcoin has traded inside a rising channel since Feb. 6 after a 38.63% drop from the Jan. 13 high. The price tested the channel’s upper trendline in early May, was rejected and has since rolled over. Shorter-term momentum sits below the 20- and 50-period exponential moving averages on the three-day timeframe. The 100-period EMA is converging on the 200-period EMA on the same timeframe; a crossover would alter the longer-term average relationship.

Market participants are focusing on a single technical level. A three-day close above $73,869, the 0.236 Fibonacci retracement of the current structure, would clear the first pullback level. Above that, the next resistance points are $77,877 and the channel’s upper resistance near $82,785. Failure to reclaim $73,869 would put the rising channel’s lower trendline, around $70,342, into focus. A breakdown below that level would expose the 0.382 Fibonacci level at $68,348, about 7% below current prices, with further support levels at $63,886 and $59,424.

Analyst Benjamin Cowen assigns a probability to a new low in 2026 and lists October as his base case for a cycle bottom.

ETF redemptions, whale distributions and reduced long-term holder positions coincided with the technical levels described above ahead of June.