Bitcoin Stabilizes After AI Stock Rout as Traders Await U.S. Jobs Data

Bitcoin recovered from a Thursday low near $75,200 following an AI-driven market sell-off that triggered more than $1 billion in crypto liquidations. Investors are now turning their attention to the upcoming U.S. employment report for clues about the economy and monetary policy.

Bitcoin (BTC) gained 0.2% to approximately $76,150 since midnight UTC, rebounding after briefly falling to around $75,200 at 23:00 UTC on Thursday. Ether (ETH) advanced 0.3%, while the CoinDesk 80 Index also added 0.2%. The CoinDesk Memecoin Index outperformed the broader market with a 4% increase.

The recovery came after a sharp downturn on Thursday, when the Nasdaq Composite plunged 5.5%. Investors reacted to concerns that Democratic control of Congress could create obstacles to AI data center construction. The weakness extended into cryptocurrency markets, triggering more than $1 billion in leveraged liquidations over 24 hours, according to CoinGlass.

During the same period, Bitcoin declined 5.3%, while Ether recorded a 7.3% loss.

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs also experienced significant withdrawals. Data from Farside Investors showed that Fidelity’s FBTC recorded approximately $200 million in outflows on Thursday, while BlackRock’s IBIT lost another $105 million. The withdrawals extended IBIT’s negative flow streak to five consecutive trading sessions.

Market participants are now awaiting the U.S. employment report, scheduled for 8:30 a.m. EST (13:30 UTC). Economists surveyed by FactSet forecast that the U.S. economy added 65,000 jobs in October.

Bitcoin Derivatives Show Renewed Leverage and Defensive Positioning

Bitcoin futures open interest increased to $22.1 billion from $21.8 billion. However, the market experienced $1.27 billion in liquidations over 24 hours, including approximately $1.1 billion in long positions.

The increase in open interest suggests that leverage was largely rebuilt after the liquidation wave rather than representing entirely new market exposure. Funding rates also experienced volatility, briefly turning negative on Bybit at an annualized rate of -5% before stabilizing between 0% and 5% across other platforms.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s three-month futures basis remained steady at 5.7%.

Options activity indicated growing caution among traders. The 24-hour put-to-call volume ratio stood near 51:48, slightly favoring put options as investors sought downside protection. The one-week 25-delta skew climbed to approximately 15%, compared with 11% a week earlier.

The implied volatility term structure remained in contango, with short-term volatility elevated near 50% amid recent market stress. Longer-dated contracts through late 2027 traded at approximately 38%–40%.

Bitcoin liquidity levels also remain important for traders. According to the Binance liquidation heatmap, a major concentration of long liquidation liquidity sits between $74,000 and $75,000, just below the prevailing price. A further decline could bring this zone into focus.

On the upside, the $76,800–$77,000 range represents an important liquidity cluster to monitor if Bitcoin continues recovering.

WLFI, Zcash and Other Altcoins Attract Attention

World Liberty Financial’s WLFI token gained approximately 3.5% since midnight UTC following an announcement that the Trump-backed project intends to expand its token buyback program.

The planned purchases will be partly financed through fees generated by reserves supporting its USD1 stablecoin. Despite the latest advance, WLFI remains approximately 10% lower since Tuesday’s midterm elections and has lost more than 66% of its value this year. Meanwhile, the official Trump (TRUMP) token reached a record low during the week.

Privacy-focused cryptocurrencies showed comparatively stronger performance during the broader market decline. Monero (XMR) fell 3.2% over 24 hours, outperforming Bitcoin’s 5.3% decline.

Zcash (ZEC) activated its NU7 upgrade early Friday, reducing its targeted block interval from 75 seconds to 25 seconds. The token gained approximately 1% since midnight UTC following the upgrade.

Hyperliquid’s HYPE token continued facing selling pressure, trading roughly 19% below its $96 peak recorded the previous week. The token had rallied after ICE and Trade[XYZ] announced a deal to introduce Hyperliquid-based perpetual futures to U.S. retail traders, although some of the initial enthusiasm has since faded.

Injective (INJ), meanwhile, gained 14% over the week. The advance followed Nasdaq’s approval of the listing of Canary Capital’s staked INJ ETF, according to an SEC filing.

Broader altcoin sentiment remained weak. CoinMarketCap’s Altcoin Season Index stood at 44 out of 100, its lowest reading since September, indicating that speculative interest across the cryptocurrency market continues to decline.

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