Bitcoin Price Forecast – Bears Target $75K Amid Rising Liquidations and ETF Outflows

Highlights:

• Bitcoin falls below $80K as ETF outflows and inflation fears pressure sentiment.
• Long liquidations jump to $315M as short sellers gain market control.
• Bitcoin’s long-term outlook stays bullish if key resistance levels return.

Bitcoin (BTC) has lost the $80k level intraday as sellers appear to be gaining control. At press time, Bitcoin was trading at $79.816.15, down by 1.48% in the day. However, trading volumes are relatively stable in the day, up 12% to stand at $36.15 billion. The slightly increased trading volume when the market is down indicates that short sellers are driving price action, while long-term holders are not panicking over day-to-day price changes. Several factors support short seller positions in the short term. 

Bitcoin ETF Outflows Hint at Short-Term Price Correction

One of them is the recent U.S. inflation data that showed higher-than-expected readings. This has likely dampened expectations of any rate cut this year. At the same time, it has also reduced the likelihood of a major Bitcoin price rally in the short to medium term. That’s because Bitcoin usually performs well in low-interest-rate environments.

As such, with the expectation that rates will remain high for longer, short-term investors are likely to exit their positions in search of other opportunities. Such a possibility is already evident in the latest Bitcoin ETF data. On May 13, Bitcoin ETFs recorded outflows of $635 million. This is the biggest redemption of Bitcoin ETFs since January.

Bitcoin ETFs saw $635 million worth of outflows yesterday. This is the single largest outflow since Jan 30th. pic.twitter.com/96UzQEKPpr

— Lucky (@LLuciano_BTC) May 14, 2026

Long Liquidations Point to Growing Selling Pressure

The expectation of a short-term correction is also evident in the liquidation of longs. In the last 24 hours, Bitcoin long liquidations rose by 88.91% to $315.31 million. This is an indicator that, after Bitcoin failed to hold the $80k mark, more traders expect a much deeper correction. With funding rates turning negative, this could add to short-seller confidence and momentum in the short term.

$252,960,000 in long positions liquidated in the last 4 hours.

Late longs are getting wiped out. pic.twitter.com/5jEZFSucIi

— Ted (@TedPillows) May 13, 2026

The pressure from ETF exits could add to the pressure that short sellers are applying on the market, and push Bitcoin lower in the short term. Long-term, the odds are high that Bitcoin could keep pushing higher. 

Bitcoin Likely Headed Higher Long Term Up Despite Short Term Pressure

One of the key factors supporting Bitcoin’s long-term upside is the rising risk-on sentiment in the market. U.S. stock indices are the biggest indicator that investors are taking a risk-on pivot. They recently not only made a recovery despite an ongoing conflict in the Middle East. This rally continues to get stronger even after stronger-than-expected inflation data came from the US. This momentum is likely to increase if positive news comes out of President Trump’s visit to China. 

Trump is China with the heads of NVIDIA and Tesla. If they strike deals that open up the Chinese market to these tech giants, U.S. stock indices could be headed significantly higher than they are now.

Thanks to Bitcoin’s correlation with U.S. indices, Bitcoin could start catching up to the gains going forward. A key factor that could drive capital into Bitcoin is the fact that it is still trading way below its last all-time high. As such, it gives a higher risk-return dynamics relative to buying into stock indices at current levels.

Technical Analysis – Bitcoin Price Correction Breaches Bullish Channel

Bitcoin’s intraday correction has seen it break down from a multi-day bullish channel. This could confirm a short-term correction if Bitcoin falls below the $79,317 support. In such a scenario, Bitcoin could drop to $75,527 in the short term.

However, if Bitcoin bulls return and push the price above $80k intraday, the bullish channel would remain intact. In such a case, Bitcoin could be headed to $89,193 in the short term. Of these two scenarios, a short-term correction to $75,527 is more likely due to the outflows from ETFs and rising short seller momentum.