A May 28 morning slide to a session low of $72,642 pushed bitcoin closer to locking in an overall loss for May, extending a weeklong retreat from its May 25 peak of $78,000.
Key Takeaways:
- Bitcoin fell to a session low of $72,642 on Thursday morning, threatening to close May with a monthly loss.
- Volatile price swings triggered $921 million in total digital asset market liquidations, hammering longs.
- Wall Street’s muted reaction to subsequent U.S.-Iran peace updates suggests growing investor ambivalence.
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Bitcoin Flirts with Monthly Loss as Key Support Tested
Bitcoin edged closer Thursday morning to capping the month of May with overall losses after tumbling to a session low of $72,642. The slide occurred less than 12 hours after the cryptocurrency plummeted to an intraday low of $72,622 just after midnight. This downward momentum extends a weeklong retreat, with bitcoin shedding roughly $5,000 since hitting a peak of $78,000 on May 25.
Market data show that shortly after dropping below $72,700, bitcoin quickly reclaimed $73,000 but ultimately lost momentum before reaching $73,500. Several attempts to test this level failed, with the cryptocurrency losing steam below or just over $73,400. However, around 9 a.m. EDT, another sell-off saw bitcoin plunge from $73,432 to $72,669. It remained stuck below $73,000 until a swift recovery after midday propelled it past the $73,000 mark again.
At the time of writing at 1:22 p.m. EDT, bitcoin was trading just above $73,350, narrowing its 24-hour losses to 2.3%. The slide pushed its weekly losses to 5% and its 30-day losses to just under 4%. The price action left its market capitalization virtually unchanged from its early morning level of around $1.46 trillion.
As noted in an earlier report, geopolitical friction drove the initial sell-off, with bitcoin reacting sharply to reports of renewed military strikes between U.S. and Iranian forces. While official negotiators downplayed the incident, the escalation dented market confidence in a swift diplomatic breakthrough. Instead, it fueled concerns that both sides are maintaining a public facade of diplomacy while preparing for conflict.
This skepticism was mirrored in Wall Street’s muted reaction to later headlines suggesting a deal had been struck—a sign that investors are becoming increasingly desensitized to shifting Middle East negotiation updates.
Meanwhile, bitcoin’s volatile price action triggered $352 million in leveraged liquidations—a minor $14 million decline from the flush recorded when the asset first dipped below $73,000 earlier in the day. Mirroring that earlier rout, long positions bore the brunt of the damage, accounting for roughly $333 million of the total. Across the broader digital asset market, total liquidations surged to $921 million, with long bets making up $835 million of the casualties.
