Bitcoin’s on-chain activity has surged to levels last seen during the 2024 bull market, with daily transactions hitting 831,000 on May 12, according to data from CryptoQuant. This spike, sustained over three consecutive days, signals rising institutional demand for transfers and trading. The rally in network usage closely mirrors the adoption wave that followed the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in early 2024, a period when transaction counts scaled with price.
Macroeconomic headwinds tested the market midweek as the U.S. Consumer Price Index for April came in at 3.8% year-over-year, hotter than the 3.6% economists expected and the highest since May 2023. Bitcoin initially dipped to $79,879 in late U.S. trading but rebounded quickly to $81,208 by the Asian morning, ending the day up 0.3% after trading within a $1,400 range. The swift recovery underscored strong structural buying, with CoinShares reporting $858 million in global crypto fund inflows last week—$706 million of that directed into Bitcoin products. Unwinding of bearish bets also stood out: $14 million flowed out of Bitcoin short positions, the largest weekly short capitulation of 2026.
Among major altcoins, BNB led gains with a 2.5% rise to $677, while Dogecoin added 1.3% to $0.1114. Ether slipped 0.3% to $2,300 and Solana edged down 0.6% to $95.52. Traditional markets felt the CPI heat more acutely: the S&P 500 fell 0.2% and the Nasdaq 100 dropped 0.9%, with semiconductor stocks hit hard.
Regulatory developments continued to offer a tailwind. A compromise on stablecoin yield treatment under the CLARITY Act has been reached, with the Senate Banking Committee set to consider the markup next week. FxPro’s chief market analyst Alex Kuptsikevich noted that Bitcoin “lost its upward momentum as it approached the 200-day moving average,” but the shallow pullback “resembles nothing more than a breather following a rally.” The combination of surging network activity, persistent institutional inflows, and ongoing legislative progress paints a positive picture for Bitcoin’s near-term outlook, though macro uncertainty remains a key variable.
