BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) saw Bitcoin sold across five consecutive sessions last week, totaling $1.01 billion. The flow reflects ETF investor redemptions that mechanically prompt fund-level BTC sales, rather than necessarily signaling a change in BlackRock's view. Despite that pressure, Bitcoin remained above $76,000, raising questions about who provided the offsetting demand.

A New York man identified in filings as Noah Doe has asked the Supreme Court of the State of New York to declare him the legal owner of 39,069 Bitcoin wallets that he says were abandoned. The First Amended Complaint was filed May 1, 2026 (index No. 153119/2026) after he reported wallet-address data to the NYPD and said he spent more than a year trying to locate the owners. The dispute centers on whether long-dormant, self-custodied wallets can be treated as lost property under New York law.

Bank of America reduced exposure to Ethereum- and Solana-linked products in the first quarter while increasing allocations tied to Bitcoin, based on its latest 13F disclosure. The filing shows a sharp buildup in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) position to roughly $37 million, alongside additional Bitcoin-related holdings via other ETFs and MicroStrategy shares.

On May 25, two unrelated Bitcoin wallets that had been inactive for more than a year transferred a combined 1,650 BTC to institutional prime brokerage Falconx. The amount was valued at about $127 million at the time, with BTC trading near $77,000. The move drew attention because Falconx typically supports institutional custody, lending, and OTC-style execution rather than retail spot selling.

Bitcoin was trading around $77,400 after a modest +0.9% move over the past 24 hours as Nasdaq PHLX received conditional SEC approval to list European-style, cash-settled BTC index options under the QBTC ticker. The contracts track the CME CF Bitcoin Real-Time Index (BRTT), settle in U.S. dollars, and represent 1 BTC per contract, but they still need CFTC exemptive relief before trading can begin.

Over the past week, BTC flows tilted against buyers as net exchange inflows climbed to +18K BTC while U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded roughly -16K BTC. Together, the two channels imply about 34K BTC of local selling pressure, with ETFs not providing demand to offset the added exchange-side supply.

Bitcoin is heading into a macro-heavy week, with U.S. April PCE inflation data due Thursday expected to drive market volatility. The report, alongside Thursday’s Q1 2026 GDP and April new home sales, could push BTC toward $75,000-$76,000 if inflation is hotter, or back to $80,000-$82,000 if inflation comes in cooler.

Bitcoin's on-chain demand picture has deteriorated, with CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost saying the Apparent Demand gauge has slid to its most bearish reading of the year. The 30-day sum measure is nearing -147,000 BTC, which Darkfost said is the weakest level since early 2026. BTC was trading at $77,300 at press time.