Bitcoin network activity crashes 40%

Bitcoin’s (BTC) on-chain activity has declined sharply, with the number of active addresses dropping by nearly 40% over the past two weeks amid ongoing price consolidation.

Indeed, Bitcoin active addresses have fallen from approximately 821,000 to 494,000, a 39.8% decrease, according to Glassnode data shared by Ali Martinez in an X post on May 26.

This metric reflects the number of unique addresses that participate in transactions as senders or receivers and indicates reduced network engagement during sideways price movement.

The slowdown in network activity is widely seen as a healthy reset that flushes out short-term speculative participants. 

As weaker hands step back, Bitcoin supply becomes increasingly concentrated among long-term holders with stronger conviction.

This shift can reduce selling pressure and strengthen the network’s foundation for future growth. Historically, declining active addresses during consolidation phases have often aligned with accumulation periods before major upward moves, as reduced short-term noise allows genuine demand to build.

However, prolonged low engagement could also reflect weakening momentum, increasing the risk of deeper corrective dips if key support levels fail. 

Bitcoin’s potential crash

Indeed, the insight comes as the cryptocurrency continues to face consolidation below the $80,000 mark. The asset remains well below its all-time high of over $126,000 from late 2025, reflecting a broader market reset phase following significant prior gains.

Interestingly, there are concerns that Bitcoin could see further losses in the coming days. In this line, as reported by Finbold, economist Henrik Zeberg warned that Bitcoin’s current rebound may only be a temporary “B-wave” bounce before a severe market crash.

Zeberg projected that Bitcoin could still rally toward the $100,000 region as investor sentiment turns “extremely bullish.” However, he cautioned that the move may mark the final phase of the current cycle before a sharp reversal.

The bearish outlook was supported by technical indicators, including a monthly RSI bearish divergence and a potential MACD bearish crossover, patterns that previously appeared before the 2018 and 2022 Bitcoin bear markets.

While Bitcoin remains resilient near $77,000, Zeberg warned traders to enjoy the bounce but “get out in due time” ahead of what he described as a potentially “horrendous” crash.

Bitcoin price analysis 

By press time, Bitcoin was trading at $77,363, having posted modest gains of about 0.5% over the past 24 hours.

Overall, Bitcoin is showing a mixed but stabilizing technical outlook as the asset trades slightly above its 50-day simple moving average (SMA) of $76,955, suggesting short-term momentum remains intact, and buyers are still defending near-term support levels.

However, Bitcoin remains below its 200-day SMA at $80,439, indicating the broader trend is still facing resistance and the market has not fully regained long-term bullish strength.

Meanwhile, the 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) stands at 48.16, placing Bitcoin in neutral territory and signaling that the asset is neither overbought nor oversold.