Bitcoin Price Today: BTC at $79,640 After Breaking Below $80,000 – Bears Take Control

Bitcoin is trading near $79,640 on May 14, 2026, and the weekly chart says everything you need to know. BTC opened the week at $81,520, pushed toward $82,000 on May 11, got rejected for the fourth time in two weeks, then spent the rest of the week giving back gains. By May 14, price had broken below $80,000 for the first time since early May and is sitting near a weekly low of $78,800.

Down 2.28% on the week. The $80,000 floor that held through all of April and early May is now broken.

What the Weekly Chart Shows

The pattern that built up over two weeks finally resolved to the downside. Every push toward $82,000 met the same wall: the 200-day moving average at $82,228. BTC tested it four times and was turned away each time. When resistance holds that many times, it tends to break the buyers eventually.

That is what happened this week. After the May 11 rejection from $82,000, price started declining with no meaningful bounce. By May 13 BTC was near $80,000. By May 14 it was through it. The rejection broke BTC out of a rising wedge formation immediately after testing the 200-day MA, a pattern that signals bullish momentum has weakened significantly.

Volume picked up on the way down, which is the wrong configuration. High volume declines confirm selling conviction rather than suggest a washout bottom.

BTC/USD Chart: $80,000 Flips From Support to Resistance

BTC/USD 1W chart showing the weekly high near $82,000, the break below $80,000, and the current price at $79,640. Source: CoinMarketCap.

The level map has shifted. $80,000 was support for six weeks. It is now resistance on any bounce attempt. Getting back above it requires a 4H close above $80,000 and then a hold. Without that, every rally attempt will run into sellers at exactly that level.

The next major support sits at $75,800, which previously acted as a strong breakout zone in April. Below that, $71,500 is the next meaningful floor. A continued sell-off could drag price toward the $63,000 region, which aligns with the previous consolidation base.

On the upside, reclaiming $80,000 on a daily close is the minimum requirement to stop the bleeding. Getting back above $82,228 on a daily close would flip the short-term structure back to neutral. Neither looks likely in the immediate term without a strong catalyst.

What Pushed BTC Through $80,000

Three things hit simultaneously this week and none of them helped.

CPI came in at 3.8% last week, the highest since 2023, removing rate cut expectations from the 2026 calendar entirely. Higher-for-longer rates tighten the financial conditions that support risk assets. That pressure built through the week and showed up in price by May 14.

Today is also Jerome Powell’s last day as Fed Chair. Powell chaired his final FOMC meeting on April 30 and held rates steady at 3.50% to 3.75%, the third hold in a row. Kevin Warsh takes over, but his first FOMC meeting is not until June, leaving a window of leadership uncertainty. Markets historically sell risk assets around Fed Chair transitions, and this week delivered exactly that.

Derivatives liquidations accelerated the move. Massive derivatives liquidations added to the sharp pullback, with ETF inflows weakening and short-term holders increasing selling pressure simultaneously.

The One Number That Matters Below $80,000

Strategy holds 818,334 BTC at an average cost of $75,537. At $79,640, there is roughly $3,400 of cushion between current price and Strategy’s average entry. If BTC continues sliding toward that level, the market will start watching whether Saylor authorizes further purchases or pauses. A pause from the largest corporate buyer at exactly the moment ETF flows are weakening would remove two structural demand pillars at the same time.

That scenario is not guaranteed. But it is the risk that matters most below $80,000.

Key Levels

Support: $78,800 (weekly low) / $75,800 / $71,500 Resistance: $80,000 / $81,500 / $82,228 (200-day MA)

Bottom Line

Bitcoin broke below $80,000 after four weeks of failing to clear $82,228. The weekly candle is bearish: opened at $81,520, pushed to $82,000, closed near $79,640. The floor that held all month is now overhead resistance.

Reclaiming $80,000 on a daily close is the first step to stabilizing. Without it, $75,800 is the next stop. Strategy’s average cost at $75,537 is the line below which corporate buying math breaks down.

Bearish short-term. The structure broke today, and broken structures tend to stay broken until something fundamental changes.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.