BTC price seeks $155K 'trigger' — 5 Things to know in Bitcoin this week

Bitcoin (BTC) bounces back to eye fresh all-time highs as a testing macro week unfolds for risk-asset traders.

BTC price action dipped below $107,000 before rebounding into the weekly close, and some are eagerly anticipating new record highs.

US inflation data meets bond market woes this week as the Federal Reserve shows no signs of cutting interest rates.

On exchanges, the taker buy/sell ratio is causing concern for analysis amid cooling order book activity.

One whale, however, is having fun — and his successive longs and shorts are being increasingly watched in trading circles.

Funding rates are not spiking despite current prices — a key silver lining for price upside sustainability.

Bitcoin price discovery on the radar after rebound

Bitcoin swapped late-weekend weakness for gains into the May 25 weekly candle close, a move which ultimately took BTC/USD above the $110,000 mark.

Volatility is continuing as the week gets underway, with old all-time highs from January a key area of interest.

Commenting, popular trader Daan Crypto Trades argued that despite the last-minute recovery, Bitcoin needed a more convincing close to seal the likelihood of further gains next.

The weekly candle closed at $109,100, per data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView — around $200 below the January high.

BTC/USD 1-week chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

“Not a great looking weekly candle for an all time high break. Generally you want to see strong continuation especially considering the ~$2B+ in ETF inflows that came in since breaching that previous high,” he told X followers in one of his latest posts.

Forecasting an “interesting week,” Daan Crypto Trades referenced the ongoing popularity of the US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which last week took in $2.75 billion.

$BTC is forming a bullish penant here.

It bounced back nicely from support level, which is a good sign.

Despite $1B long position closing and low liquidity volume, bears didn’t take BTC down.

I think the next week will be good for BTC.

I can smell a new ATH again. pic.twitter.com/4cQhrlINIb

— Cas Abbé (@cas_abbe) May 25, 2025

Others have new record highs in sight thanks to price action reversing upward at just below $107,000.

“$BTC has completed the breakout. Now it’s about follow-through,” fellow trader BitBull summarized.

“Clean breakout from consolidation, retest underway. If this structure holds, the next target zone is $155K in sight — Momentum only needs a trigger.”BTC/USDT perpetual swaps 1-day chart. Source: BitBull/X

Bond yields meet PCE in tough macro week

The Federal Reserve’s “preferred” inflation gauge highlights the week’s US macroeconomic data prints amid the threat of rising interest rates.

The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Index print for April is due on May 29, along with initial jobless claims.

These will follow the first revision of Q1 GDP, while in the background, rising bond yields are causing concern. Last week’s threat of 50% trade tariffs on the EU from President Donald Trump appeared to worsen the situation.

“It’s like clockwork: President Trump delays 50% EU tariffs until July 9th. Then, the 10Y Note Yield instantly rises back above 4.55%,” trading resource The Kobeissi Letter wrote in an X thread on the topic.

“Trade deals are no longer containing the bond market.”

Kobeissi described rising interest rates as Trump’s “biggest problem,” warning of a lethal combination of trade deals and high benchmark interest rates.

“The Fed refuses to cut rates and trade deals are driving yields higher,” it summarized.

The minutes of the Fed’s May meeting, at which officials decided to hold rates at current levels, will be released this week.

Fed target rate probabilities (screenshot). Source: CME Group

The latest data from CME Group’s FedWatch Tool shows subdued market expectations of a rate cut this year, with no such action anticipated before the Fed’s September meeting.

Exchange flash “bearish” momentum signal

Exchange order books are one element of the market giving analysts bearish signals as the week begins.

In coverage of the taker buy/sell ratio, onchain analytics platform CryptoQuant announced a “strong bearish” trajectory as both buyers and sellers wound down activity.

“Across centralized exchanges (CEXs), both taker buy and taker short volumes have dropped significantly,” contributor Crazzyblockk wrote in one of its “Quicktake” blog posts.

“This indicates a cooling in market order aggressiveness on both sides, often a precursor to reduced short-term momentum and increased uncertainty.”Bitcoin taker buy/sell ratio. Source: CryptoQuant

The taker buy/sell ratio tracks the ratio of buy to sell volume across takers during perpetual swap trades, and on May 25, it slid below the key level of 1 for the first time since early April.

Crazzyblockk thus concludes that sellers are “beginning to dominate.”

“Simultaneously, 7-day price volatility is spiking, a typical signal of market inflection zones,” the blog post continued.

“Current data points to a turning point in market sentiment. With buyer exhaustion growing and volatility accelerating, the likelihood of a short-term correction increases. Price action may test support near the 105K level, if bearish pressure intensifies.”Exchange taker buy/sell ratio signal (screenshot). Source: CryptoQuant

Before last week’s macro-driven price retreat, Cointelegraph reported on taker data conversely implying a fresh round of upside thanks to buy-side pressure remaining strong.

Hyperliquid’s Wynn heads to memecoins

Up or down, Bitcoin is currently a prime target for large-volume traders entering sizable speculative positions.

As Cointelegraph continues to report, one entity in particular, Hyperliquid’s James Wynn, has flipped from long to short and back again within a few days.

While just one “whale” trader out of many, Wynn’s moves have gained considerable attention, and with it sway over sentiment.

An initial $125 billion long position was exited at a loss thanks to the latest US tariff headlines, with Wynn then entering a short. This, however, lasted a matter of hours before he returned with another 40X leveraged long, BTC/USD reversing higher at the same time.

Let’s reverse this double time

— James Wynn 🐳 (@JamesWynnReal) May 26, 2025

“To all the fans and haters: We had a good run gambling on perps,” Wynn wrote in a subsequent X post announcing his latest trade exits, this time in profit to the tune of $25 million.

To all the fans and haters:

We had a good run gambling on perps

At peak the account was up $87,000,000 profits from like $3-$4m.

Now decided to leave the casino with my $25,000,000 profit

It’s been fun, but now it’s time for me to walk away a wynner

Wynn 1-0 Haters… pic.twitter.com/vuUiET2CQZ

— James Wynn 🐳 (@JamesWynnReal) May 26, 2025

Monitoring his activity, analytics platform Lookonchain revealed other crypto bets, including a new long position on popular memecoin Pepe (PEPE).

Funding rates boost short-squeeze bets

Zooming out, Bitcoin’s current breakout is making some market participants confident that price discovery is only beginning.

Funding rates across derivatives platforms remain fairly neutral, they note — a similar picture to the run-up to previous all-time highs seen in late 2024.

CryptoQuant data puts the cross-exchange Bitcoin funding rate at 0.006 as of May 25.

“Sentiment is calm. No overleveraged longs piling in,” popular trader Jelle thus responded to the numbers.

“This is one of the healthiest Bitcoin breakouts in a long time – looks ripe to move a lot higher.”Bitcoin funding rates. Source: CryptoQuant

Crypto commentator Quinten Francois described the funding rates as reflecting a “perfect setup to rip higher.”

Popular trader Crypto Eagles subsequently said that the combination of low funding and increasing open interest (OI) should boost the odds of a short squeeze.

This is something I wanted to see and it has happened.

BTC funding rate has turned negative, while OI is going up rapidly.

Interestingly, this is happening during a low liquidity Sunday dump.

Bears are getting too confident here and this always happens before a big short… pic.twitter.com/8RGIPsglxB

— Crypto Eagles (@CryptoProject6) May 26, 2025

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

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