Bitcoin’s post-midterm rally quickly ran into a broader market reversal. On Thursday, November 5, a sharp selloff in technology and semiconductor stocks spread into crypto, while leveraged liquidations and withdrawals from spot Bitcoin ETFs added selling pressure. Bitcoin later steadied near $76,000, but analysts cautioned that a pause in selling was not the same as a recovery driven by new buyers.
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A tech selloff spilled into crypto
Bitcoin had climbed above $80,000 after the midterm election, then fell sharply as investors pulled back from risk assets. One report tracked the price sliding from about $80,962 late Wednesday to $75,568 on Thursday; reports put the overnight low between $75,131 and $75,208. The exact low varies by report and timestamp, but both place it near a seven-week low.
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Technology stocks were at the center of the reversal. The Nasdaq fell 5.5% on Thursday, while semiconductors dropped about 12%, according to CoinShares. The market weakness was tied to concerns about the returns on AI investment and disappointing chipmaker earnings. With Democrats controlling both chambers of Congress, investors also worried that stronger opposition to data-center construction could slow AI expansion.
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That political concern added uncertainty; it does not, by itself, establish that election results caused the selloff. Reporting describes the market move as a wider risk-off episode, with crypto falling alongside other assets.
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Liquidations and ETF outflows deepened the drop
As Bitcoin fell, leveraged traders were forced to close bullish positions, adding to downward pressure. One report put total crypto liquidations at $1.27 billion, including more than $1.1 billion in long positions.
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Spot Bitcoin ETFs also recorded $430.2 million in net outflows on Thursday. Fidelity’s FBTC saw about $200 million leave, while BlackRock’s IBIT lost roughly $105 million, according to reporting citing Farside Investors.
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22 Those withdrawals were another sign that the bounce was not being supported by strong spot-market buying.
Why $76,000 did not mean Bitcoin had recovered
Bitcoin moved back toward $76,000 on Friday, but that price action was described as easing selling pressure rather than fresh accumulation. Dean Chen cautioned against calling it a reversal, and a separate report identified $77,000 as a level Bitcoin needed to reclaim for upside momentum.
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The distinction matters: a price can stabilize simply because forced selling slows. A more convincing recovery would require evidence of renewed demand, not just a pause after a sharp decline. ETF outflows and weak spot buying offered little confirmation of that demand at the time.
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Friday’s jobs report added a rate concern
The October employment report came after Thursday’s market decline had begun. U.S. payrolls increased by 165,000, while unemployment fell to 4.1% from 4.2%. The stronger-than-expected figures reinforced expectations of further Federal Reserve rate increases and added pressure as Bitcoin tried to stabilize.
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Reports cited an average forecast of about 65,000 jobs, although forecasts varied.
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57 The jobs figures were therefore a separate headwind on Friday—not the trigger for Thursday’s tech-led selloff.
The Binance hack and policy uncertainty were part of the backdrop
The market was already absorbing news of the October 29 Binance hack, reported at about $6.3 billion. Binance suspended transactions while investigating, and customers later withdrew substantial funds after the exchange reopened.
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5 The hack contributed to an unsettled crypto backdrop, but the available reporting identifies the technology-market rout as the immediate driver of Thursday’s decline.
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Investors were also weighing uncertainty around the CLARITY Act, a proposed crypto market-structure bill. Reporting said a Democratic-controlled Congress could make its path harder, adding a policy concern alongside the market and flow pressures.
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Taken together, the evidence points to a combination of forces: a sharp risk-off move in technology stocks, forced selling in crypto, ETF outflows and—on Friday—a stronger jobs report that raised rate concerns. Bitcoin’s move back toward $76,000 offered some relief, but did not yet show that buyers had taken control.