Bitcoin Bears Circle $70K as Traders Bet on Deeper May Slide

• Bitcoin dropped about 3% in 24 hours to US$72,739 (AU$101,107) on May 28, hitting a six-week low of US$72,669 (AU$101,010) and sitting roughly 42% below its US$126,080 (AU$175,251) all-time high.
• Prediction market Myriad showed 27% odds that Bitcoin closes May below US$70,000, up about 240% in 24 hours; Polymarket’s equivalent market priced the same outcome at 26%.
• A 24-hour liquidation cascade wiped out nearly US$924 million (AU$1.28 billion) in leveraged positions, including roughly US$851 million (AU$1.18 billion) in longs.

Prediction market traders sharply repriced the odds of Bitcoin (BTC) closing May below US$70,000 (AU$97K) on May 28.

Bitcoin traded around US$72,739 (AU$101K) on May 28, down about 3% over the previous 24 hours and only 3.9% above the psychologically significant US$70K level. The asset now trades approximately 42% below its US$126K (AU$175K) all-time high.

Starting with Myriad’s market, markets on whether Bitcoin will close May below the US$70,000 strike climbed to 27% odds, up roughly 240% in 24 hours, while Polymarket’s equivalent contract priced the same outcome at 26%. 

On longer-dated Polymarket contracts we can see traders assigned 54% odds that Bitcoin trades below US$55,000 (AU$76K) at some point before 2027, and 42% odds the asset prints below US$50,000 (AU$69K) during 2026. 

Moreover, a Robinhood contract on Bitcoin closing at US$73,300 (AU$101K) or above on May 28 priced near 99¢, with US$74,000 (AU$102K) or above at only 2¢ approaching expiry.

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ETF Outflows And Long Liquidations

The price slide unfolded alongside an unusually heavy bout of leveraged liquidations and ETF redemptions. Roughly US$924 million (AU$1.28 billion) in crypto futures positions were wiped out over 24 hours, with about US$851 million (AU$1.18 billion) of that coming from long positions.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs have shed more than US$1 billion (AU$1.39 billion) over the prior two trading days, with US$733 million (AU$1.02 billion) of net outflows on the previous Wednesday alone and a cumulative US$2.6 billion (AU$3.61 billion) pulled across an eight-day losing streak. 

An Arctic Digital analyst noted the decline is “partly due to ETF outflows, with serious amounts getting out,” characterising the redemptions as a meaningful driver of spot weakness rather than a side effect.

Read more: ASIC Sounds Alarm as Crypto Scammers Trap Investors Through Fake Trading Groups

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