Why is crypto down today? Bitcoin dropped below $76,000 as a major semiconductor stock selloff triggered $1.03 billion in leveraged liquidations and led to $430 million in Bitcoin ETF outflows.
Bitcoin declined approximately 6% on Thursday, November 5, after a sharp downturn across Wall Street intensified selling pressure in the cryptocurrency market. The decline pushed BTC below $76,000, forced the closure of more than $1 billion in leveraged positions and triggered substantial withdrawals from U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs. The bearish trend extended into Friday’s trading session.
Bitcoin was trading near $75,700 on Binance Friday morning, down from $80,547 at the start of Thursday. Ethereum fell 8.2% to $2,218, XRP declined 9.7% to $1.18, and Solana lost 6.9% to $89.22. Market sentiment also deteriorated, with the Crypto Fear & Greed Index falling to 28 from 50 a day earlier, placing it firmly in the “Fear” category.
The stock market downturn played a major role in the crypto decline. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunged 12.2%, while Nvidia and AMD shares dropped 9.3% and 17.3%, respectively. The Nasdaq Composite also closed 5.5% lower. Meanwhile, crypto-linked equities faced similar pressure, with Strategy falling 9.3% and Coinbase declining 9.7%.
The combination of technology stock losses, leveraged trading and institutional fund withdrawals accelerated the crypto market selloff. Investors are now watching whether Bitcoin can stabilize around its current levels or experience another leg lower.
Why Is Crypto Down Today? Semiconductor Stocks and Leverage Fuel Bitcoin’s Decline
Bitcoin’s downward momentum intensified following the opening of U.S. markets at 14:30 UTC. Within the next hour, BTC experienced a significant price drop. Binance’s 15:00 UTC candle moved from $78,288 to $75,568, making it the busiest trading hour of the day, with $513 million in volume.
Yahoo Finance’s market coverage associated the broader stock market weakness with the Democrats’ decisive midterm victory and potential consequences for AI infrastructure investment and regulation. Semiconductor firms, which had benefited significantly from the artificial intelligence investment boom, were among the hardest-hit companies.
The cryptocurrency market’s use of leverage further amplified the selloff. CoinGlass recorded $1.03 billion in liquidations over a 24-hour period as exchanges forcibly closed positions when traders’ margin balances became insufficient. Long positions accounted for $924.94 million, representing 89.4% of total liquidations across 199,365 traders.
Bitcoin long positions suffered $255.88 million in liquidations, while Ether long traders recorded $163.83 million in losses. The largest single liquidation involved a $10.94 million ETHUSDT position on Binance.
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Bitcoin ETFs Face $430 Million in Daily Withdrawals
U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs registered $430.2 million in net outflows on Thursday, with all 12 funds recording withdrawals. Data from SoSoValue showed that Fidelity’s FBTC experienced the largest outflow at $199.87 million, followed by BlackRock’s IBIT with $104.97 million.
The latest withdrawals reversed the previous session’s inflows. On November 4, Bitcoin ETFs attracted $74.6 million, marking the only positive-flow trading day of November so far.
Total ETF outflows for the first four trading sessions of November reached $869.8 million. This came after investors withdrew another $515.9 million from the funds during October.
Fidelity’s ETF activity attracted particular attention. FBTC recorded $236.7 million in inflows on Wednesday while BlackRock’s IBIT experienced outflows. However, Fidelity’s fund surrendered a substantial portion of those gains during Thursday’s session.
BTC Price Analysis: Bitcoin Slips Below Its 200-Day EMA
Bitcoin finished Thursday’s session at $76,088, falling below its 200-day exponential moving average (EMA) at $76,536. The technical indicator had previously served as a support level during October’s market pullback.
The 50-day EMA, positioned at $79,822, has now become a potential resistance zone. If Bitcoin manages to recover above this level, traders may look toward the $81,971 high recorded before last week’s Binance hack.
On the downside, the $74,968 swing low represents Bitcoin’s first significant support level. A breakdown below this price could expose BTC to further declines toward $72,598, corresponding to the 50% Fibonacci retracement of the July-to-September rally.
One concern remains despite the massive liquidation event. Funding rates for Bitcoin perpetual futures on OKX are still slightly positive, indicating that bullish leveraged positions have not been completely eliminated from the market.
The current crypto downturn is closely linked to the broader Nasdaq selloff, particularly the sharp decline in semiconductor stocks. If technology shares stabilize when U.S. markets reopen on Friday, Bitcoin could attempt to reclaim its 200-day EMA.
However, continued weakness across chip stocks could increase selling pressure on BTC. A break below $74,968 may open the door to a deeper correction toward $72,598, making the next trading session crucial for Bitcoin’s short-term outlook.
