Bitfinex traders increased bullish bets on Bitcoin during the five-day downturn, with long positions reaching a 2.5-year peak.

Bitfinex margin longs have surged to a two-and-a-half-year high, even as Bitcoin continues to trade below key technical resistance near the $78,000 level.

Bitcoin (BTC) has now fallen for five straight trading sessions between May 15 and May 19, marking its second-longest losing streak of the year and struggling to print its first daily gain in nearly a week. The recent decline has pulled BTC down from above $80,000 to around $76,000 amid broader weakness across risk assets.

Despite the pullback, leveraged traders on Bitfinex are continuing to build exposure. Data from TradingView shows Bitcoin margin longs—positions taken using borrowed capital—have risen to 80,636 BTC, up about 1.5% over the past several days. This marks the highest level since December 2023, when Bitcoin was trading near $43,000.

The data also shows Bitfinex margin longs have increased roughly 10% since the start of the year, even as Bitcoin has dropped around 13% over the same period. The divergence highlights persistent accumulation by large traders despite BTC remaining nearly 35% below its October all-time high of $126,000.

Historically, the so-called “Bitfinex whale” has often been viewed as a contrarian indicator. Over the past five years, spikes in leveraged long positions have frequently appeared during periods of market stress and downside volatility, while exposure tends to be reduced closer to local market tops.

From a technical standpoint, Bitcoin is now approaching a critical zone. The price is testing the True Market Mean—an on-chain valuation metric reflecting the network’s aggregate cost basis—alongside the short-term holder realized price, which tracks the average entry level of recent buyers over the past 155 days, both clustered near $78,000.

Above this region, the 200-day moving average sits just above $81,000, forming the next major resistance level that bulls will need to reclaim to confirm a broader recovery trend.