Bitcoin Holds Near $76,800 Between On-Chain Levels and Options Strikes

Bitcoin traded at $76,856 on May 26 after rebounding from the 128-day moving average near $74,500, according to Checkonchain data cited by CoinDesk. The price has tracked the 2026 realized price, currently near $76,200, since early April. That realized price represents the average acquisition cost of bitcoin that last moved in 2026.

Bitcoin remains below two on-chain metrics clustered near $77,000: the true market mean and the short-term holder cost basis.

6 billion options expiry is scheduled for May 29 on Deribit. The largest call open interest sits at the $80,000 strike with roughly $600 million notional, while the largest put open interest is at $75,000 with about $377 million notional. Market makers hold positions that create an incentive to keep the price between those strikes until expiry.

Glassnode data shows more than 15 percent of bitcoin's circulating supply was acquired between $74,000 and $83,000, illustrating the narrow band in which recent trading has occurred. In February, bitcoin found support near the 2023 realized price during a drop toward $60,000, underscoring the role these cohort cost-basis levels now play in market structure.