Bitcoin Week 22: $74K Low, Stabilizing Flows, and a Market in Consolidation Mode

Bitcoin traded between $74K and $79K over the past week, pulling back sharply before recovering toward $77K. Price momentum declined 21.7%, but the more telling signal came from cumulative volume delta: Spot CVD rose 77.2% and Perpetual CVD climbed 35.5%, both pointing to easing sell pressure rather than fresh distribution.

On the speculative side, the picture is mixed. Spot volume fell 10% and Futures Open Interest dropped 3.5%, reflecting reduced risk appetite — yet long-side funding payments surged 135.4%, signalling that demand for leveraged long exposure remains alive beneath the surface. Options markets saw 25-Delta Skew tick higher, suggesting slightly elevated demand for downside protection, while overall positioning stayed broadly intact.

TradFi-linked metrics offer a modest counterweight.