Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) highlighted this movement. Investors added $6.2 billion in Bitcoin exposure through these investment vehicles in the first four weeks of May while withdrawing $2.7 billion from gold ETFs, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.
The report noted that realized gains accelerated last week, and the Relative Unrealised Profit indicator moved beyond its plus-two-standard-deviation band.
Only 16% of Bitcoin’s trading history shows the gauge at such heights. Past occurrences coincided with brief spikes in volatility as holders crystallized gains.
Elevated profitability increases sell pressure, forcing spot demand to absorb redistributed coins and maintain the uptrend.
At the same time, perpetual futures open interest swelled into Bitcoin’s all-time-high breakout, and now contracts as leveraged longs unwind.
Options open interest peaked at $49.4 billion, about $6 billion above January’s high, before the May 29 expiry trimmed the figure to roughly $39 billion.
The report linked the surge to expanding institutional activity, noting that large derivatives books can amplify price swings when macro liquidity tightens.
The report concluded that the pullback removed excess leverage, aligned supply with organic bids, and reset funding conditions across futures and options. This creates a healthier scenario for an upward movement.
However, on-chain metrics suggest turbulence in the short term, while Bitcoin trades just 6.5% below its all-time high.
