itcoin (BTC) closed out the month of May trading flat near $67,500 after recovering from a dip toward weekly lows on the last day of trading. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed the number one cryptocurrency erasing gains seen earlier in the day on May 31st to close 3% lower near $66,650.
However, despite this late volatility, BTC still managed to post its strongest monthly performance since May 2019 with gains of over 11% for the month. Market analysts were noting that the sell-off in the last hours of trading seemed designed to unsettle bulls and trap some long liquidity ahead of the close, but that overall May price action underscored Bitcoin's resilience.
Whale Manipulation Blamed for Last-Minute Dip
Trading analytics firm Material Indicators attributed the pre-close volatility to "killer whale games" being played by large Bitcoin traders. These whales had dumped liquidity onto the order books to hammer prices downward and exploit support levels. On Binance, the largest crypto exchange, charts showed a "brick of Bitcoin asks" hitting the order books from one or more large traders.
Keith Alan of Material Markets said on Twitter this predatory behavior was an attempt to fail a flip of the key $69,000 resistance level before month-end. Failing to close above this level would have made completing an "epic" end to May's price rises. Still, despite the late dip, monthly gains remained firmly in double-digits for BTC.
Macro Data Fails to Buoy Prices Further
United States macroeconomic data in the form of the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index was released on May 31st, coming in slightly above expectations and suggesting inflation may be slowing. However, this news failed to drive further upward momentum for Bitcoin prices in the short term. According to popular trader Skew, the initial BTC price rise seen in anticipation of the PCE was pulled back as traders unwound exposures into the event itself.
Going forward into June, traders will be watching to see if "spot flow" demand can return and provide the buying pressure needed to challenge resistance levels again or face the risk of further drawn-out consolidation. But overall, market analysts were positive on how May price action solidified Bitcoin's trading range above the $60,000 support level.
