BTC Market Pulse: Week 21

Crypto Insight Summary: Bitcoin rallied from the high-$60,000s to a local peak above $82,000 before momentum faded and price pulled back to the mid-$77,000 range, according to Glassnode's Week 21 Market Pulse report published on May 18, 2026, by authors Glassnode, CryptoVizArt, and Chris Beamish. Spot market data shows a sharp 848.7% drop in Spot Cumulative Volume Delta alongside a 4.2% rise in Spot Volume, signaling heavier selling pressure despite increased trading activity. In futures, Open Interest declined 2.9% as traders reduced leverage, while Long-Side Funding Payments surged 136.6% indicating renewed long demand, even as Perpetual CVD plunged 278.7% reflecting dominant sell-side pressure. The options market saw a 42.75% increase in the 25-Delta Skew and a 124.52% rise in Volatility Spread, pointing to growing demand for downside protection and expectations of larger price swings, with Options Open Interest up 1.7%. Traditional finance sentiment weakened as US Spot ETF MVRV fell 6.1% and ETF Netflows deteriorated sharply, though ETF Trade Volume still rose 7.0%. On-chain activity was mixed, with Active Addresses declining while Entity-Adjusted Transfer Volume increased, suggesting quieter retail usage alongside continued large-scale capital movement. Profitability metrics cooled, with NUPL and the Realized Profit-to-Loss Ratio weakening notably, though long-term holder dominance continued to build. Overall, the report concludes that Bitcoin's market structure is softening across momentum, spot demand, and speculative positioning, but stable liquidity conditions and persistent long-term holder accumulation continue to provide resilience. Crypto Insight Analysis: Direction: Bearish BTC Impact: Minor Impact Horizon: Short-term (1-3 days) Reasoning: Increased selling pressure, declining momentum, and demand for downside protection signal short-term bearishness.