Bitcoin Drops Near $77K as Sellers Cap Gains and Altcoins Decouple

Bitcoin is trading near $77,000 after failing to sustain gains above the 200-day moving average at $80K-$82K resistance. The period opened with a rally from $78,567 on May 1 to a three-month high of $81,700 by May 5, supported by strong ETF inflows exceeding $1.1 billion. Heavy institutional profit-taking followed, including a record $635 million single-day outflow on May 14 coinciding with CLARITY Act regulatory progress. Weakening Bitcoin dominance has allowed tokens like HYPE and TRX to rally on ecosystem demand while privacy coins attract attention amid mixed macro signals.