Bitcoin has resumed its downward trend following a bitcoin price bounce through April (despite Elon Musk revealing a $1.4 billion bitcoin surprise).
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The bitcoin price, down 40% from its all-time high in October last year, has failed to hold onto the closely-watched $80,000 per bitcoin level, with billionaire Mark Cuban suddenly flipping on bitcoin and crypto.
Now, as traders brace for a White house crypto market game-changer, a “bloodbath” bitcoin price warning has been issued as traders flee BlackRock’s bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).
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Bitcoin has struggled to regain momentum, with analysts warning a huge bitcoin price crash could be looming as investors flee BlackRock’s bitcoin fund.
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“Bitcoin price action could turn into a bloodbath quickly,” one widely-followed crypto analyst posted to X, pointing to technical chart analysis that showed the “last time bitcoin got rejected from the topside of this bear flag, it dumped nearly 40% in 23 days.”
A 40% bitcoin price crash would plunge the price back to just over $40,000 per bitcoin, a level not seen since before U.S. president Donald Trump retook the White House in late 2024, promising to make the U.S. the world’s crypto capital.
Meanwhile, traders have continued to exit bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as geopolitical risk weighs on cryptocurrencies.
Global crypto investment products, including the closely watched U.S. exchange-traded funds (ETFs) issued by asset managers such as BlackRock, Fidelity, and 21Shares, lost almost $1.5 billion last week, a second consecutive negative week and the third-largest weekly outflow of 2026, according to CoinShares.
“Cumulative outflows over the two weeks now stand at $2.5 billion, suggesting the Iran-related risk-off has deepened and broadened despite continued Clarity Act progress,” CoinShares head of research James Butterfill wrote in a report, referring to the crypto market structure bill that is still being negotiated by U.S. lawmakers.
The latest bitcoin price boom that saw bitcoin hit an all-time high of $126,000 per bitcoin in October last year, was fueled by the likes of BlackRock buying huge volumes of bitcoin for their ETFs.
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The bitcoin price has lost momentum after topping $80,000 per bitcoin, raising fears of another bitcoin price crash.
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BlackRock has become world’s largest corporate holder of bitcoin after Michael Saylor’s Strategy, buying just over 800,000 bitcoin on behalf of investors since its bitcoin fund was given the green light by regulators in early 2024.
“The bigger negative factor for bitcoin remains ETF flows,” Linh Tran, market analyst at XS.com, said in emailed comments, pointing to SoSoValue data that showed U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs recorded six consecutive sessions of net outflows from May 15 to May 22, with total net outflows of around USD 1.55 billion.
“On May 18 alone, net outflows reached $648 million, with BlackRock’s IBIT seeing outflows of $448 million. This suggests that institutional demand remains relatively weak, leaving the current rebound without enough support to confirm a sustainable upward move,” Tran said.
“If the bitcoin price fails to reclaim [$80,000], selling pressure could return, especially as ETF flows remain negative and the macro environment is still not fully supportive.”