The SEC has approved Nasdaq's plan to list cash-settled, European-style Bitcoin index options on the Philadelphia Stock Exchange under the ticker QBTC. The contracts are tied to the Nasdaq Bitcoin Index and are designed to settle in cash at expiration rather than delivering Bitcoin. Trading still cannot begin until the CFTC grants exemptive relief.

Bitcoin traded at $74,526 on May 23, down 1.34% on the day, after slipping below the 50-day SMA at $76,544. The chart’s next nearby level highlighted is the Fibonacci 0.382 at $74,179, while a daily close below it would leave the 100-day SMA at $72,619 as the next labeled support.

Bitcoin slid to a monthly low slightly above $74,000 after extending its week-long drop. Analysts said BTC has fallen below the 100-day and 50-day moving averages, while one market watcher argued whales are placing buy orders to absorb selling. Another analyst said a rebound would likely require reclaiming the low $80,000 area around the daily 200MA/EMA.

The SEC has approved Nasdaq PHLX to list and trade QBTC, a set of Bitcoin index options tied to the CME CF Bitcoin Real Time Index (BRTI). Nasdaq said the product uses an index value divided by 100 and a one-hour settlement calculation window from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM New York time split into twelve five-minute intervals. The move follows the SEC's earlier decision to raise position limits for BlackRock's IBIT options to as many as 1 million contracts.

Santiment says more than $1 billion of net outflows from US spot Bitcoin ETFs over the past trading week may act as a contrarian indicator for BTC. The platform argues these ETF flows often reflect retail conviction and have historically aligned with periods suited to patient accumulation rather than panic.

Bitcoin fell below $76,000 as renewed macro uncertainty and a U.S. SEC delay tied to blockchain-based tokenized stocks pressured broader crypto sentiment. The move coincided with spot Bitcoin ETF net outflows of more than $105 million, while some analysts cite an MVRV reset signal and a still-rising channel as reasons the dip may not mark a structural breakdown.

Bitcoin was above $82,000 in the prior business week before a sharp rejection pushed it down by more than $7,000 to a monthly low of $75,000 overnight. The pullback has been attributed to potential sell-side flows to exchanges, macro uncertainty tied to the incoming Fed chair, and renewed worries around U.S.–Iran military escalation.

Over the past 24 hours, crypto markets turned broadly lower as total capitalization fell more than 2% to about $2.53 trillion, triggering $574.28 million in liquidations with roughly 90% from long positions. Bitcoin slid about 3% into the $75,000 area, erasing around $55 billion in market cap, while Ether dropped 4%. The move followed the SEC's delay of a tokenized stock trading exemption framework and Kevin Warsh being sworn in as the new Federal Reserve chair.