Why is crypto down today? A sharp decline in semiconductor stocks pushed Bitcoin below $76,000, liquidated $1 billion in leveraged positions and triggered $430 million in Bitcoin ETF outflows.
The answer to “why is crypto down today?” lies in a 6% Bitcoin decline below $76,000 following a Wall Street chip-stock selloff on Thursday, November 5. The downturn forced the liquidation of $1.03 billion in leveraged positions and prompted $430 million in withdrawals from Bitcoin ETFs. Selling pressure continued into the overnight session.
Bitcoin was trading near $75,700 on Binance Friday morning, falling from $80,547 at the beginning of Thursday. Ethereum dropped 8.2% to $2,218, XRP declined 9.7% to $1.18, and Solana lost 6.9% to $89.22. Meanwhile, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index slipped to 28, indicating “Fear,” compared with a neutral reading of 50 the previous day.
The initial catalyst was a sharp downturn in the stock market. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index closed 12.2% lower, while Nvidia and AMD shares plunged 9.3% and 17.3%, respectively. The Nasdaq also recorded a 5.5% decline. Crypto-related equities followed the broader selloff, with Strategy falling 9.3% and Coinbase losing 9.7%.
What transformed the technology-sector decline into a broader crypto market crash, and where could Bitcoin find its next support level?
Why Is Crypto Down Today? Semiconductor Losses and Excessive Leverage
Bitcoin came under immediate pressure after Wall Street opened at 14:30 UTC. Within the next hour, the cryptocurrency experienced a sharp breakdown. Binance’s 15:00 UTC candle fell from $78,288 to $75,568, marking the most active trading hour of the day, with $513 million in volume.
Yahoo Finance’s market coverage connected the stock market decline to the Democrats’ decisive midterm victory and its potential implications for AI infrastructure spending and regulation. Semiconductor companies, which had benefited significantly from the artificial intelligence investment boom, faced some of the steepest losses.
Leveraged trading amplified the decline. CoinGlass reported $1.03 billion in liquidations over a 24-hour period as traders’ positions were forcibly closed after their 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 longs lost $163.83 million. The largest individual liquidation involved a $10.94 million ETHUSDT position on Binance.
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How Much Did Bitcoin ETFs Lose?
U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $430.2 million in net outflows on Thursday, with all 12 funds reporting withdrawals rather than new investments. Data from SoSoValue’s ETF tracker showed Fidelity’s FBTC leading the outflows with $199.87 million, followed by BlackRock’s IBIT, which lost $104.97 million.
The withdrawals reversed the previous session’s positive momentum. On November 4, Bitcoin ETFs attracted $74.6 million in net inflows, marking the only day of positive flows during the month so far. As a result, total outflows for November’s first four trading sessions reached $869.8 million, following another $515.9 million in withdrawals during October.
Fidelity’s ETF activity stands out in particular. FBTC attracted $236.7 million on Wednesday while BlackRock’s IBIT experienced outflows. However, Fidelity’s fund surrendered much of those gains in the following session.
BTC Price Analysis: Bitcoin Falls Below Its 200-Day EMA
Bitcoin ended Thursday at $76,088, slightly below its 200-day exponential moving average (EMA) of $76,536. The indicator had previously acted as a support level during the October correction.
The 50-day EMA, currently positioned at $79,822, now represents an overhead resistance level. Beyond that, Bitcoin faces another hurdle at $81,971, the high recorded before last week’s Binance hack.
On the downside, the $74,968 swing low represents Bitcoin’s immediate support zone. A breakdown below this level could expose the cryptocurrency to further losses toward the 50% Fibonacci retracement level of the July-to-September rally, located at $72,598.
However, a potential risk remains. Bitcoin perpetual futures funding rates on OKX are still slightly positive, suggesting that bullish leveraged positions have not been completely eliminated despite the massive liquidation event.
For traders wondering “why is crypto down today?”, the broader Nasdaq selloff remains the central factor. If semiconductor stocks stabilize when U.S. markets reopen on Friday, Bitcoin could attempt to recover above its 200-day EMA. However, continued weakness in technology stocks could put the $74,968 support level under pressure, potentially turning the current decline into a more significant correction.
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