Bitcoin Demand Falls to Lowest Level as Market Sentiment Turns Bearish

Highlights:

• Bitcoin demand has dropped to its lowest level in a very long time.
• Cryptoquant explained that the reduction has sparked BTC price decline concerns.
• Bitcoin continues to trade below $80,000 as ETF outflows and exchange inflows continue to rise. 

Cryptoquant analyst Darkfost has reported that Bitcoin (BTC) may be experiencing one of its weakest periods of demand. In an X post on Monday, CryptoQuant noted that new data showed Bitcoin’s “Apparent Demand” has dropped to -147,000, its lowest point since December 2025. This decline points to a drastic reduction in traders’ buying activity across the crypto market.

Apparent Demand compares the amount of new BTC entering circulation with the volume that has remained untouched for over a year. The metric is often used to measure whether long-term BTC holders and new investors are accumulating enough supply to balance the new tokens created by the network.

Bitcoin Demand has Fallen to Its Most Bearish Level of the Year

“Even if this situation appears relatively bearish in the short term, these types of environments have historically also created interesting opportunities for long-term investors” – By @Darkfost_Coc pic.twitter.com/q5pesCl70H

— CryptoQuant.com (@cryptoquant_com) May 25, 2026

Implications of the Decline in Bitcoin’s Demand

Darkfost explained that the decrease in demand has raised concerns about how long Bitcoin’s price can continue to appreciate without strong support from spot buyers. While futures trading can push prices upward for short periods, many analysts believe that long-lasting rallies often depend on real market activity in the spot market.

The analyst explained:

“Futures can support short-term momentum and amplify price movements, but sustainable bullish phases generally require genuine spot demand, as derivatives alone do not allow the market to build a stable and solid foundation.”

The current situation has added to the cautious mood already building in the crypto market. Sentiment has tilted more towards negative as traders react to the slowing demand and uncertain momentum. On the positive side, historical trends have shown that sharp declines in demand and heavily bearish sentiment have sometimes appeared before stronger market recoveries.  

Darkfost added that the present market situation offers patient investors the opportunity to monitor the market closely while others continue to display fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD). “Periods where demand slows sharply, and sentiment becomes excessively pessimistic, are often the moments that deserve the most attention,” the analyst emphasized.

BTC’s Price Appreciates Slightly as Bitcoin Demand Falls to Lowest Level

At the time of press, Bitcoin’s price has spiked 0.2% in the past 24 hours. It is changing hands at approximately $77,394, has a market cap of roughly $1.55 trillion, and has a trading volume of about $24.3 billion. The asset is also 0.6% up in the past week. However, it dropped 0.5% month-to-date and 27.7% year-to-date. Other metrics showed that the asset is 38.7% below its $126,080 all-time high (ATH) attained in October 2025. 

Coincodex’s data shows that Bitcoin’s supply inflation is low at 0.83% with a medium volatility of 2.24%. Sentiment remains neutral while “Fear & Greed Index” points to “Extreme Fear.” In addition, Ethereum (ETH) has outperformed BTC. 

Bitcoin Faces Increasing Pressure from Exchange Inflows and ETF Outflows

In a separate X post on Monday, Darkost reported that Bitcoin inflows into Binance have surged significantly over the past few days. As of May 16, Binance was seeing an average of about 378 BTC in daily inflows.

In less than ten days, this figure increased to about 1,190 BTC. In addition, one of the largest inflows occurred on May 18, with over 3,600 BTC entering Binance in a day. Bitcoin exchange-traded funds have also been experiencing significant inflows. SosoValue’s statistics showed that Bitcoin ETFs saw roughly $1.257 billion in net outflows in the just concluded week. 

🔴 Bitcoin inflows on Binance haven't stopped in 10 Days

The market remains in a correction driven by tense geopolitical conditions affecting economies worldwide, making it particularly difficult for risk assets to navigate in this environment.

💥 In this context, for nearly 10… pic.twitter.com/VztQF96fMQ

— Darkfost (@Darkfost_Coc) May 25, 2026