Bitcoin dominance has begun to weaken after reaching the 60% zone during the recent market expansion, with current levels at 58.33% as reported by AMBCrypto. This slowdown suggests capital concentration around Bitcoin may gradually be fading, following similar patterns from previous market cycles. During 2017, dominance collapsed from nearly 95% toward 35% as Ethereum and smaller-cap assets absorbed rising liquidity, while a similar pattern reappeared through 2021 when dominance briefly climbed near 70% before sharply reversing below 40% as speculative appetite expanded beyond Bitcoin. Despite the weakening dominance, Bitcoin still retains strength to reclaim broader market liquidity, with the Altcoin Season Index staying below the 75 altseason threshold.
Seven major Bitcoin mining pools have joined the Stratum V2 working group as the industry seeks a common open standard for communication between pools and miners. The new members include AntPool, Block Inc., F2Pool, Foundry, MARA Foundation, SpiderPool, and DMND. According to Crypto.news, Stratum V2 is designed to make Bitcoin mining pool communication faster and more secure, giving miners more control over block template selection instead of relying only on pool operators. Foundry controls nearly 30% of global pool hashrate, while AntPool controls about 17.7%, according to Hashrate Index data, giving the working group significant market weight. The timing matters because mining remains highly competitive, with Crypto.news reporting that up to 20% of Bitcoin miners may be unprofitable under current conditions.
Public mining firms distributed nearly 32,000 BTC during Q1 2026 alone, exceeding total liquidations recorded throughout all of 2025, according to AMBCrypto. Part of that pressure emerged from tightening post-halving economics across the mining sector, with the Hashprice hovering between $33 and $40 per PH/s per day, remaining near breakeven levels for older mining fleets. Firms including MARA, Riot, CleanSpark, and Bitdeer increasingly converted reserves into cash as profitability compressed. Glassnode data shows repeated miner distribution near Bitcoin's highs suggests operators still prioritize liquidity preservation as post-halving profitability pressures remain elevated. This implies that the rally is not purely speculative because the market continues absorbing heavy miner distribution near highs.
As Bitcoin approached the $80,500–$81,000 region, dormant Bitcoin supply suddenly returned to circulation with significant impact. One 14-year-old wallet distributed 11,300 BTC, worth nearly $750 million, while another accumulated roughly 7,000 BTC, valued near $470 million, as reported by AMBCrypto. Coin Days Destroyed (CDD) sharply spiked following these transfers, signaling older holders were actively repositioning after years of inactivity. Bitcoin still defended the $80,000 zone despite aggressive sell-side pressure from Long-Term Holders (LTH), suggesting strong spot demand continued absorbing distributed supply without triggering a sharp breakdown. Exchange inflows briefly rose by several thousand BTC during selective trading sessions, though total Exchange Reserves still hold near multi-year lows between 2.1 million and 2.7 million BTC.
Bitcoin has faced rejection at the critical $82,500 resistance level and is currently trading below $80,000, showing resilience despite the pullback. According to Delta Exchange, the cryptocurrency stayed mostly flat near the $80,000 mark on Friday after facing rejection around $82,500, with the move suggesting traders are locking in profits following the recent strong rally. The sentiment turned slightly cautious after US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs saw net outflows of $268 million on Thursday, as reported by The Economic Times. Despite the intraday weakness, BTC is still up approximately 3% on the week, maintaining its position for a sixth consecutive weekly gain. The immediate catalyst: US forces struck back against Iran following attacks on three American warships transiting Hormuz, reigniting a geopolitical flashpoint that markets had largely priced out.
