Bitcoin’s [BTC] recent recovery has hit a wall. The market isn’t panicking, but traders and institutions seem careful about taking aggressive positions now.
The market is looking to find stable ground. Here’s what you need to know…
Strategy’s BTC sale is more than just that
Strategy has sold Bitcoin for the first time in years, but the size of the move was small. The company sold 32 BTC between 26 May and 31 May for roughly $2.5 million. Proceeds are expected to help fund preferred stock dividends.
This is not the first time though. The last sale came in December 2022, when Strategy sold 704 BTC for tax-loss harvesting and bought back 810 BTC just a few days later. In practice, that was a tax move.
This time too, the sale is not huge. Strategy still holds 843,706 BTC. So, the bigger point is perception. Every Strategy sale will make the community wonder – is it just routine funding, or a dent in the “never sell” story?
Users are cutting crypto exposure
It’s not just Strategy. OKX’s latest Proof of Reserves also showed that users are pulling back from crypto.
As of 07 May, user Bitcoin holdings on OKX fell by 5,851 BTC to 111,188 BTC – A 5% decline from the previous release. Ethereum [ETH] holdings also dropped by 50,140 ETH to 1.56 million ETH – Down 3.12%.
Interestingly, USDT holdings moved slightly higher, rising to 10.24 billion USDT.
There’s minimal panic, and high defense.
A tough road to recovery ahead
At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s Open Interest across major exchanges (excluding CME) was still below where it stood before the infamous 10 October 2025 liquidation event. Put simply, traders have not fully rebuilt their leveraged positions yet.
Total Bitcoin Open Interest was close to 375,000 BTC before the crash, compared with roughly 351,000 BTC now. The market may have stabilized, but risk appetite is yet to go higher.
Binance is the clear exception though. Its Open Interest has moved above pre-crash levels, and its market share has also increased. This implied that activity may be returning where liquidity is higher.
Final Summary
- Strategy sold 32 BTC for the first time since 2022.
- Bitcoin’s OI is still below pre-crash levels, with traders still being cautious.