Bitcoin fell below $78,000 after a short-lived rally that jumped from under $79,000 to $82,000 following progress on the CLARITY Act. Analysts pointed to miner selling of 800 BTC (about $64 million) and warned the move could mark a bull trap, with one calling for a potential drop toward $63,000. Others argued losing $80,000 support does not automatically imply a steep crash.

The crypto market lost roughly $100 billion over the past 24 hours, with total capitalization sliding from about $2.7 trillion to around $2.6 trillion. Bitcoin fell 3.24% to roughly $77,878 and Ethereum declined 3.76% to about $2,170, while large-cap losses also hit Solana, BNB, and XRP.

Bitcoin (BTC) slipped below $80,000 after nearly $60 billion left risk markets on May 15, as investors reassessed macro conditions. With April inflation at 3.8% and rate-hike odds for January above 50%, BTC fell more than 2.6% in under 48 hours while spot demand indicators weakened.

Bitcoin was turned back at the 200-day SMA and slid toward the $77,500 support area after trading above $81,000 earlier in the week. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs posted broad net outflows totaling about 3,670 BTC, while macro data including a 1.4% monthly PPI and 3.8% annual CPI weighed on rate-cut expectations.

On May 14, 2026, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee approved the CLARITY Act by a 15–9 vote, a move the market treated as especially significant for XRP after years of regulatory uncertainty. XRP rose 4.5% to $1.49 after the vote and posted a 7.6% gain over the week, while XRP/BTC stood at 0.00001805, up 1.9% across seven days. The bill now heads to the full Senate, where it needs 60 votes, with timing expectations extending into early June and a possible signing target around July 4, 2026.

Clients tied to BlackRock's IBIT spot Bitcoin ETF sold about $317.1 million worth of BTC this week, adding fresh outflow pressure. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs then logged a $290 million net outflow on May 15 and finished the week near $1 billion in withdrawals. Bitcoin also slid 3.2% over the prior 24 hours, briefly dipping back toward the $78,000 range after trading above $82,000.

Kraken said on X that it plans to move kBTC and future wrapped assets onto Chainlink's CCIP, highlighting a push for more security-focused cross-chain settlement infrastructure. The kBTC ecosystem holds about $330 million across DeFi channels, while Chainlink's infrastructure secures more than $33 billion across connected networks. The shift also raises concerns that heavier reliance on a small set of providers could increase concentration and systemic risk.

On May 15, 2026, a broad risk-off move hit global markets after South Korea's KOSPI sank 6.1% and chipmakers sold off, dragging S&P 500 futures down 0.8% and Nasdaq 100 futures 1.1%. Oil rose sharply, with Brent at $108.75 and WTI at $104.42 as traders weighed potential disruption in the Strait of Hormuz. Bond yields climbed across major markets, with the US 10-year nearing 4.52% and Japan's 20-year yield reaching its highest level since 1996.