Bitcoin stalls near $78,000 as Binance logs five days of stablecoin outflows

Monday 04 May 2026 - 15:20

By: Dakir Madiha

Bitcoin stalls near $78,000 as Binance logs five days of stablecoin outflows

Bitcoin entered May under quiet but measurable strain. After a rally that carried the cryptocurrency from $74,000 to $78,000 between mid and late April, on-chain data from Binance now points to fading momentum, with five consecutive days of net stablecoin outflows draining liquidity from the world's largest exchange by trading volume. The pattern has drawn attention from on-chain analysts who see it as a potential early warning signal for renewed price pressure if fresh capital does not return to the platform.

Between April 14 and April 22, Binance recorded daily net stablecoin inflows ranging from $548 million to $1.14 billion, a steady accumulation of new purchasing power that coincided with Bitcoin's rebound toward $78,000. Starting April 28, that trend reversed sharply. The exchange has since recorded five straight days of net outflows, running between $1.54 billion and $1.78 billion per day. The last time outflows reached comparable levels was around January 26, when daily withdrawals peaked at $3.2 billion while Bitcoin was trading near $89,500, an episode that preceded a price decline of roughly 15 percent before stabilization around $76,000. The broader context sharpens the concern: Binance had attracted approximately $6 billion in stablecoin inflows across March and April combined, including around $3.5 billion in April alone, reversing a prior period of roughly $7.6 billion in net outflows. Yet much of that April capital sat idle, with the platform's stablecoin supply ratio holding above 0.30, a level indicating waiting liquidity that had not yet converted into active buying.

Derivatives markets presented a mixed picture as of May 2. Total open interest in Bitcoin options approached $30 billion across platforms, with calls representing approximately 58.7 percent of positions and puts 41.3 percent. The single largest individual options contract was an $80,000 call expiring May 29 on Deribit, carrying 7,493.7 BTC in open interest. The max pain level for the May 3 expiration sat near $78,000, broadly in line with the spot price. In futures, Binance led with 134,620 BTC in open interest, while the CME recorded the largest single-day jump in futures open interest on May 2, rising 6.16 percent. Despite the overall bullish tilt in open interest, 24-hour options trading volume leaned toward puts at 53.65 percent, suggesting that hedging activity remained elevated even as the broader positioning skewed long.

Whale movements added another layer to the picture. A single wallet withdrew 1,051 BTC — worth approximately $82.37 million — from Binance to a newly created address with no prior transaction history, a pattern commonly associated with long-term accumulation strategies or institutional self-custody. That move followed a separate withdrawal days earlier in which another large holder pulled 400 BTC worth $30.78 million from the exchange. Analysts monitoring the stablecoin flow situation have warned that without fresh capital entering Binance in stablecoin form, Bitcoin could face renewed downward pressure, noting that the cycle of reserve accumulation fueling a rally and then draining appears to be repeating itself at a smaller scale.