Written by Nancy Lubale, Staff Writer. Reviewed by Allen Scott, Staff Editor. Written by Nancy Lubale, Staff Writer. Reviewed by Allen Scott, Staff Editor. Bitcoin stalls above $80K despite CLARITY Act pass: What will trigger a breakout?
MarketsPublishedMay 15, 2026Bitcoin’s break above $82,000 and a return of strong institutional demand are prerequisites to confirm a trend change for BTC price.
Bitcoin’s (BTC) Thursday rally to $82,000, buoyed by the Senate Banking Committee's advancement of the CLARITY Act, has stalled amid stiff overhead resistance and weakening ETF demand. Still, analysts said that BTC’s upward momentum may increase if key conditions are met.
Key takeaways:
- BTC bulls must flip the $82,000-$84,000 into new support.
- Return of strong institutional demand via spot Bitcoin ETFs is required for the uptrend to continue.
Bitcoin price must establish $82,000 as new support
Data from TradingView showed BTC tested overhead resistance at $82,000, which has rejected the price since last week.
Note that this is where the 200-day simple moving average (EMA) and the 200-day exponential moving average (SMA) converge, reinforcing the importance of this level.
Related: Bitcoin trades at a 'discount' on Coinbase: Is a $76K retest next?
“If Bitcoin is going to go higher, it should really break above the 200 EMA now at $82,000 and hold it,” analyst Sykodelic said in a Thursday post on X, adding:
“Reject again here and I think we will get a deeper retrace, $74k - $77k levels.”
Analysts at Galaxy Trading said that the price has been trading below these moving averages since October 2025, and breaking them will be “another bullish confirmation” for Bitcoin.
BTC/USD daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
The last time BTC price broke convincingly above the moving averages with strong volume was in April 2025, triggering a 48.5% rally to its current all-time high of $126,000.
Bitcoin’s cost-basis distribution heatmap reveals another major level of resistance, sitting further up, between $84,000 and $85,400, where investors acquired roughly 1.05 million BTC.
Analyst Sherlock said this is “one of the biggest supply clusters” that the BTC market must absorb to continue higher.
Bitcoin cost basis distribution heatmap. Source: Glassnode
Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s liquidation heatmap shows heavy ask orders at $82,000-$83,000, highlighting the bears' main line of defense.
Bitcoin liquidation heatmap. Source: X/AlphaBTC
As Cointelegraph reported, a break and close above $82,000-$84,00 opens the gates for a rally to the $92,000 resistance zone. A close above this resistance zone could signal the beginning of the next leg up.
Bitcoin ETF outflows diminish
One factor that could trigger a BTC price breakout is a resurgence in institutional demand, which has faltered amid inconsistent inflows into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Data from Farside Investors shows that spot Bitcoin ETFs snapped a five-day inflow streak totaling nearly $1.7 billion with $269 million in outflows on May 7 as Bitcoin dipped below $80,000.
These outflows continued this week, with the $635 million on Wednesday, marking the largest withdrawal since late January.
Spot Bitcoin ETF flows table. Source: Farside Investors
Strong and consistent inflows must return for Bitcoin to continue its recovery, Glassnode said in this week’s newsletter, adding:
“If sustained, continued institutional accumulation could provide the demand base required for Bitcoin to challenge higher overhead supply zones in the weeks ahead.”
Data from Capriole Investments, meanwhile, shows that while the number of Bitcoin treasury companies buying BTC daily has increased slightly over the last few weeks, it remains significantly lower than its peak seen in mid-2025.
Michael Saylor’s Strategy, the largest corporate Bitcoin treasury holder, is one of the few companies consistently buying, adding 535 BTC for $43 million last week.
The purchase brought Strategy’s total Bitcoin holdings to 818,869 BTC, purchased for about $61.86 billion at an average price of $75,540 per coin.
This article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph's Editorial Policy and is intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice or recommendations. All investments and trades carry risk; readers are encouraged to conduct independent research.More on the subject
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