Bitcoin Reclaims $76K as Spot ETFs Record $430M in Outflows After Tech Sell-Off

Bitcoin climbed back above $76,000 on Friday after briefly falling below the level during Thursday’s technology-led market sell-off.

BTC regained the $76,000 mark after losing ground during Thursday’s U.S. trading hours. The decline wiped out the recovery that followed Wednesday’s midterm election results, as investors pulled capital from spot Bitcoin ETFs and weakness in technology stocks reduced demand for riskier assets.

The leading cryptocurrency remains down more than 5.3% over the past 24 hours, despite its return above $76,000. The broader CoinDesk 20 (CD20) index also recorded a 6.28% decline during the same period.

U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $430.2 million in net outflows on Thursday, according to SoSoValue data. Fidelity’s FBTC led the withdrawals with $199.9 million, followed by BlackRock’s IBIT, which saw $105 million leave the fund.

The latest withdrawals reversed Wednesday’s $74.6 million in net inflows. As a result, cumulative outflows for the week through Thursday reached $869.8 million.

The crypto market’s weakness coincided with a sharp downturn in U.S. equities. The Nasdaq fell 5.5% on Thursday, while the S&P 500 declined 4.3%. Analysts from FalconX and GSR attributed the broader sell-off partly to concerns that Democrats’ midterm election victory could create obstacles for AI data center projects, raising further questions about the returns on substantial infrastructure investments.

Forced liquidations added to the selling pressure. CoinGlass data showed that $1.26 billion in leveraged cryptocurrency positions were wiped out over the previous 24 hours. Long positions accounted for $1.12 billion of the total, indicating that traders betting on rising prices suffered most of the losses.

The weakness in traditional financial markets is also affecting digital assets as investment managers sell alternative holdings to manage liquidity pressures.

Simon-Peter Massabni, head of business development at broker XS.com, said asset managers were selling alternative investments to meet margin requirements and reduce leverage across their portfolios.

Bitcoin’s earlier recovery had also displayed signs of limited underlying demand. Open interest in Bitcoin futures remained largely unchanged during Wednesday’s price rebound. At the same time, BTC traded at a discount on Coinbase compared with Binance, suggesting that buying interest from U.S. investors remained relatively weak.